The Prince of Dares
by SlashtasticFangirl
Summary: It all starts with a Halloween dare, and ends with romance. Draco is the Slytherin prince of dares, so he won't take this one sitting down, and Harry won't let his crush slip away. But so much happens in between! Determined to remove House stereotyping and usher in unity after the war, Hogwart's newest couples do all they can to change the school and the wizarding world. Drarry
1. Chapter 1

~~~A/N: Hey guys! I know its a bit early for a Halloween story, but I was looking through some costume sights the other day and saw soooo many Nekos that I just had to write this. It will probably be done in 3 parts. Enjoy!

Slytherins are deviant, conniving bastards; it's a well known fact, and one that Draco Malfoy was currently cursing. After all, it was not often that the Prince of Slytherin lost anything, to anyone (unless you count Quidditch, but that was _Potter_ for crying out loud). At any rate, losing was both uncommon and unwelcome to the Malfoy heir, and his most recent loss was haunting him- literally. Seriously, how had the Bloody Barron heard about the dare?! Damn Slytherin gossip. The ghost made fun of him every time he set foot in the Slytherin common room. Draco sighed aloud as he trudged past Crabbe into the bathroom and brushed his platinum hair before the mirror. His thoughts wandered to the game of Truth-or-Dare (a Muggle game he was actually quite fond of) he had endured last weekend. He had been on a winning streak, of course, doling out the most embarrassing, difficult, and sexual dares. He was the Prince of Dares, as Pansy liked to call him. That is, until Blaise asked him a particular Truth, gave him a particular dare, and Malfoy was dethroned.

(Flashback to the weekend prior)

_ "Who do you want to shag?" Blaise asked._

_ Malfoy had tried to avoid answering honestly by replying "Well, who don't I want to shag? If they're in Slytherin, of course!" Though that remark earned Malfoy a lot of invitations from his Slytherin groupies, Blaise knew that it wasn't a whole truth._

_ "Draco," he said with a cruel smile. "That's far too vague. You have to tell the whole Truth. Who, specifically, do you want to shag?"_

_ Malfoy blanched. Was a stupid game worth the risk of telling nearly every 6th, 7th, and 8th year Slytherin who he wanted to fuck? No way in hell!_

_ "I will not tell you," he replied in the most stoic way he could muster._

_ "Well then," Pansy crooned, "if you refuse to answer your Truth, you have no choice but to do a Dare of Blaise's picking."_

_ "Fine," Draco grumbled, dreading it already. _

_ "Fine indeed," Blaise said with an unsettling smirk._

_ "I swear, Zabini; if you make me snog a fucking Hufflepuff, you will wish you had never been born!" _

_ "Hmm, tempting, but no. My plans involve the Halloween Party this Friday."_

_ Draco's stomach dived. Blaise wanted him to do something at the party? Something public, on his favorite holiday no less!?_

_ "No, no way," he decided._

_ "Either that, or you tell the truth," Pansy sang._

_ "Dare! No-I mean- shit!"_

_ The other Slytherins chuckled in delight to see their idol so flustered. Blaise continued. "I think I have it. I want you to wear something to the Halloween party . . ."_

_ "What, did you expect me to go naked?" Draco sneered sarcastically._

_ "I considered that, but no, you'll just be close to it," Blaise said with a chuckle. Malfoy froze._

_ "Wait . . . What?"_

_ Blaise grinned deviously and leaned toward Draco's ear to whisper: "Have you ever heard of the Muggle books and movies called Alice In Wonderland?"_

_ "It has something to do with fantasy, I presume?" Draco asked, and Pansy nodded._

_ "Well," Blaise continued, "let's just say that there are costume versions of the Cheshire Cat character that are definitely not considered PG."_

_ "And you expect ME to wear something like THAT to the party?"_

_ Blaise nodded, and said "The tail and all."_

_ Draco rubbed his temples, knowing that there was no way out, and sighed. "Well . . . If anyone in here can pull it off, I can. I have the ass for it."_

_ His peers laughed and Theo Nott gave him a clap on the back. "So proud of ya, mate!"_

_ Malfoy grinned a little, hoping to hide his nerves as he said "You know I hate you all, right?" _(End of flashback.)

"Fucking Blaise," Malfoy grumbled. "Merlin, I can't believe I have to wear something so stupid to the Halloween party. Ugh, and only three days away . . ." He turned to stare despondently at his wardrobe,then shuddered and turned away. He had lost the dare; but revealing his truth would have been much worse. He knew he had to go through it or risk looking cowardly. Grumbling, he pulled on his school robes and slipped his dragon-hide messenger bag over his shoulder, turning to head out of the Slytherin dorm. He had barely walked a yard when he felt two heavy, solid masses bump into his back, making him stumble. Glaring, he turned around to see Crabbe and Goyle looking at him stolidly.

"Bumbling idiots! Watch where you're going!" Malfoy snapped.

"Eh, sorry," Goyle mumbled. Crabbe shrugged apologetically.

"Don't be too hard on them," the Bloody Barron said as he floated up through the floor. "Harboring ill will towards your fellows because of _your_ misfortune is quite unbecoming of a pure blooded Slytherin, especially a Malfoy heir."

Draco groaned inwardly. "Enough of the lectures, ghost, I'm busy. Or haven't you heard I have a Halloween party to plan for?"

"Oh, but you know I've heard all about that," the specter teased. "Or did you not receive the ears I placed on your bed?"

"Sod off," Malfoy grumbled, heading into the hallway and stepping onto the moving staircase. He could hear the Barron laughing, and it aggravated him that Blaise and Pansy had somehow convinced a castle ghost to ridicule him so. He was a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! And though the name no longer held the leverage it once did (what with his father being in Azkaban and all), he still had a shred of pride for his family name, dark history be damned. He was proud to be a Malfoy wizard in that he and his mother Narcissa were Malfoys; what did the rest of the family matter when they alone were the most decent members of it? Damn his family, damn his father, and damn the Bloody Barron! Draco would not be mocked at the Halloween party- he would be lusted after. With that thought coursing through his mind, Draco swagged into the Great Hall, ready to face the day.

~~~ Tell me what you think! Good, bad? I wanna know before I continue. :)


	2. Chapter 2

~~~A/N:Here we go, Chapter 2! Thanks for the encouraging reviews with Chapter 1 to let me see how I'm doing. This might be done in 3 parts, maybe more. Enjoy!

As he sat down at the Slytherin table for breakfast, Draco couldn't help but cast a casual glance over at the congregation of Gryffindors at the adjacent table. There, sitting beside Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, was Harry Potter: savior of the wizarding world, brilliant Seeker, and handsome devil. Though Harry had his back to the Slytherins, Draco simply couldn't resist enjoying the view of his messy raven hair as he joked around with his friends. Malfoy sighed happily- he hated to admit it, but those startling green eyes just did things to him. Wait . . . green eyes? Harry was looking at him?!

The Slytherin snapped to attention and realized that yes, Harry was indeed looking back at him. He had one dark eyebrow raised and he seemed puzzled more than anything. Slowly, he lifted his hand and gave a cautious little wave, as though to see if Draco was really looking at him or just staring into space. Full of pride and no small amount of courage, Draco grinned saucily back and flicked his wrist into a wave, chuckling at the look of surprise and utter confoundment on the Gryffindor's face. Turning back around in his seat, Draco couldn't help but take a peek over his shoulder. Harry had turned around, but Weasley and some other Gryffindors were sending the Slytherin either confused or somewhat angry looks. Draco smiled into his pumpkin juice and began to chat with his housemates- he had a good feeling about the day.

By the time third hour Potions class came around, Malfoy had made Pansy as curious as humanly possible. She wanted to know what plot was forming in the Malfoy's mind, and she was determined to find out, whether he really wanted her to or not. As Professor Slughorn began explaining the proper way to heat their brews, she nudged him with her elbow and whispered: "You know I'm not letting you leave here until you explain yourself."

"What is there to explain?" he asked innocently.

"You're not fooling me, P_rince,_" she said firmly, leaning toward him more._ "_You're plotting something, Dray, I can see it in your eyes- and I want to know what it is."

Draco smirked. "Do you really?" he teased. "I couldn't tell."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Just get it over with before I lace all your drinks with Veritaserum. Then I'll get you to tell me anything I want to know . . . like that Truth you backed out of."

Draco's heart may have missed a beat, but his wit did not. "I did not back out, I simply chose to do a Dare- more my speed. Besides, I abhor revealing my personal life to the general public," he sniffed.

Pansy remained unconvinced, but flattered him all the same so that she could keep him talking. "Be that as it may, you still owe me an explanation. I am certainly not the 'general public'."

"No, you certainly are not, lucky girl," he said with a smirk. "Fine. I'll tell you everything; but only if you promise to keep your mouth shut. I don't even want Blaise to know about it yet- assuming the fucking genius hasn't figured it out himself. Got it?"

Pansy squealed. "Yes! Now about that Truth, Mr. Bisexual; who is it that you-"

"Wait a minute, Slughorn's saying something," Draco said, legitimately looking at the Potions master.

"- combined groups today, a pair from each house. All right, you know what to do, so get to it!" Slughorn said merrily as his students began to disperse into groups.

"I'll go get our potion," Pansy said, heading off toward the steeping closet to retrieve their cauldron. Draco groaned in frustration; he had wanted privacy to talk to Pansy, but of course today was the day houses mixed to work on their projects. He was considering sneaking Pansy and himself into a lonely corner when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Draco grimaced. _'If there's a god listening, please don't let the __tapper __be Harry bloody Potter,' _he thought desperately, and turned around to see Hermione Granger.

"Ah, Granger," he said with relief, almost wanting to hug her. "Are you and your Weasel in need of partners?"

Hermione raised her eyebrow at the derogatory use of her boyfriend's last name, but politely replied: "Actually, Harry and I are. Ron felt sick last hour and went to sleep it off, and Neville is helping Professor Sprout with a temperamental bunch of Venomous Tentacula. Due to the circumstances, may we work with you?"

Draco was about to scream that they could not work with him if they were the last available partners on earth, but Pansy popped up next to him and said: "Sure, why not? I just set our potion down over there by Nott's table."

"Thank you, I'll tell Harry," Hermione said, heading away to the potion closet from which Harry was retrieving their brews. Malfoy whirled to face Parkinson with pure horror writ across his face. "Shit, Pansy, do realize what you've just done?!" he hissed.

"Gotten us partners from another house?" she asked sarcastically.

"You've paired us with my Truth, you bint! My fucking Truth is in our group!"

Pansy's eyes widened and she gasped with shock. "Dray, you can't be serious! Oh my- I'm sorry, I-which one is it?!"

"Harry," he said through gritted teeth as the Gryffindor wonder made his way to their table. "Bloody Harry Potter."

Pansy looked ready to faint, but said: "At least he's hot. Come on, Dray, we have to go over there." She tugged on the sleeve of his robe, and the terrified Slytherin boy allowed her to drag him over to their new lab partners. Draco felt his heart speed up and his cheeks flush as he glanced at Harry, who was looking back and forth between his cauldron and Hermione's, asking questions.

_'Keep it together!' _he scolded himself. _'Just act like you did at breakfast and everything will be fine.' _Cautiously, he scooted to Pansy's left so she could put some distance between himself and the boy wonder.

"What's the matter, Dray? You embarrassed?" she asked, teasing him but feeling genuinely sympathetic.

"I don't get embarrassed," he said haughtily, his ears starting to warm. "I just get . . . sexy."

"Then why am I standing beside him while you hide in the corner, oh sexy one?" she whispered with a smile.

"Sod off, Parkinson!" he yelled in humiliation. "It is not my fault that I happen to feel even a little embarr-" He broke off when he realized that the room was silent, and everyone in it was staring at him. He had been louder than intended.

"Feeling a little what, Malfoy? Sorry that we poor Gryffindors got stuck working with you?" Harry joked loudly and with a smile.

The classroom filled with chuckles here and there, especially from the Gryffindors, and people returned to their work. Draco started to respond, angry and slightly hurt, when he realized that Harry's joke had diverted attention away from what he was actually about to say. Hell, even Slughorn had gone along with the joke and let them be. Relief and gratefulness swept through Draco, and he had to will himself to remain poised as he said: "I suppose I should thank you for that, Potter. However, _I_ am stuck with you Gryffindors, whereas _you_ are given the chance to bask in my potion-making talents for a day."

Hermione shook her head as she read over the directions in her potion book. "Though you are very nearly my potion-making equal, Malfoy, your arrogance leaves a lot to be desired."

"Oh really?" he asked, helping Pansy sort ingredients on their table.

"Really," Harry said from behind him, making Malfoy start. "'Scuse me, but I need one of the shrivel figs." Draco shivered as Harry's hand brushed across him while reaching down to the table.

"Next time just ask me to get it, Harry," the Slytherin snapped, still trying to recover from the contact. Harry, Hermione, and Pansy all looked at Draco curiously.

"Um, ok," Harry said, adjusting his glasses. "But, uh, I think that's the first time you've called me Harry."

Draco wanted to pound his head against the table for his slip-up, but as he wanted to be at Hogwart's rather than St. Mungo's, he replied: "I guess even I can make mistakes" and started sorting ingredients again.

"Yeah," the Gryffindor boy said with a smile, crushing the fig. "I guess you can . . . Draco."

~~~Yay, first names! My fangirl heart leapt as I wrote that. My heart would also leap if you write me a review. :)


	3. Chapter 3

~~~A/N: Yay, progress in potions! This is not the last chapter as I had previously said to those of you following. I'm simply having too much fun writing this to stop just yet, so I will extend it a couple more chapters. As always, enjoy! :D

Hermione's honey brown eyes darted back and forth between the boys in utter bewilderment, and she even went so far as to look to Pansy for an explanation. The Slytherin girl shrugged and gave her a look that said she was confused as well, though she was trying to hide a smile. Potions went on a little more normally after that, with the combined group finishing their sleeping draughts right on schedule. However, the Gryffindors at the table were still feeling surprised, albeit pleasantly so. When the class came to an end, and Draco hurried to put away his potion and head out the door, Harry caught him glancing at him every now and then. After all was said and done, Harry decided that he didn't mind the glances and first-name basis. In fact, they made him feel kind of . . . warm. Shaking his head at the sheer oddness of the day, Harry left the classroom with a perplexed smile on his face. Things were strange, but looking up.

The Malfoy heir spent the rest of the day zoning out in his classes. After all, what were Astronomy and Charms lessons compared to Harry smiling at him and finally calling him Draco? Pansy noticed his change in demeanor and had to refrain from hugging him breathless. She loved seeing Draco so happy! But his distracted state led to a bit of an awkward encounter in Defense Against the Dark Arts (now taught by Kingsley Shacklebolt during his free time), another class that he and Harry shared. The class' assignment for the day was to practice and strengthen shield techniques in a duel. As Draco constantly diverted his attention from the duel to glance at Potter, he would either get knocked down from a spell he didn't protect himself against or miss-fire and hit someone else's dueling partner. The worst part was when Draco failed to block Blaise's use of Ricta Sempra and he went flying through the air, twisting until he landed on someone . . . someones . . . solid.

Groaning and looking down, Draco saw that he had, of course, landed on Harry and his partner, Ron (Hermione had elected not to take the class this term in favor of other studies). Ron was furious, of course, and insisted that it was all intentional. But Harry remained nonchalant.

"Don't worry about it, Ron, it was an accident," he said, even extending a hand to help Draco up. The Slytherin froze, remembering the day in first year when he had extended his hand to Harry, only to be rejected. Should he take Harry's . . . he had no choice. The bespectacled one ignored the second's hesitation and hauled Malfoy to his feet anyway. The blonde quickly stepped away, embarrassed.

"Not even gonna apologize, are you, Malfoy?" Ron simmered.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the Weasley, then turned his attention to the brunette. "Sorry . . . Harry."

"No problem . . . Draco."

The blonde nodded and returned to his dueling area, ignoring the looks several shocked Gryffindors were giving him.

Ron turned to Harry with accusation written across his face. "'Harry'? 'Draco'?! Don't tell me you two are starting to call each other by your bloody first names now?! He's a slimy git and you know it, 'arry!"

Potter turned to his best friend in exasperation. "He's not that bad, Ron, we've been through this before. Lucius sucked, his family sucked, and he's trying to get away from all that. Don't you get it? Besides, if it weren't for his mother lying to Voldemort, I wouldn't have been able to fake my death."

The red head grumbled about Harry's sanity and got into the dueling position again. Draco looked over and smiled faintly.

After an enjoyable dinner of _totally_ not staring at Harry as he ate, Draco grabbed Pansy and headed to the library so they could study for an upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts test. However, he didn't get much studying done, as his mind continuously wandered to a certain Gryffindor . . .

"Dammit," he grumbled, rolling up his parchment and closing his book. "I can't stop thinking about him! The bloody idiot. Why does he have to be so fucking perfect? Saving Crabbe, Goyle, and me from the fire with his stupid green eyes and stupid strong body. Humph."

Pansy giggled. "Ooh, poor baby Dray, you have feelings for once. Ha-ha! Dare I say that you're in loooove with the Potter boy?"

Draco's eyes nearly popped put of his head as he spluttered: "H-how dare you, P-Parkinson?! I could never _love _him, it's just . . . an temporary infatuation, that's all."

"More like an obsession," she said with a snicker. "Besides, the war's over. You don't have to worry about what your dad would say anymore, and I'm sure your mum would adjust event-"

"She may not be like my father, but that doesn't mean she would accept this," Draco said bitterly. "I mean, what am I supposed to do, send her a letter saying ? 'Dear Mother, I hope you're well. I certainly am, as I've been pining after the bloody Harry Potter, whom my dear pal Pansy thinks I'm in love with.' ? Forget it! He'd never return my feelings anyway," he snapped.

Pansy leaned closer to him and saw that his icy eyes were shining from withheld tears. "Draco, honey, I-"

"Just forget it," he said stiffly, standing and grabbing his bag. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." With that, he sped out of the room and left Pansy alone to contemplate:

'Poor Draco,' she thought sadly. 'But he'd better make a move soon, or else I am making it for him.'

~~~ Reviews? Pleeeease?


	4. Chapter 4

~~~A/N: Here's a quick update before I go out of town away from all traces of wifi. Goodbye, civilization! Oh, and enjoy! :b

Breakfast in the Great Hall was as crowded and noisy as usual, but something felt off to Harry. It could have been the fact that a Quidditch match was about to be held, or that the ghost Peeves was throwing scrambled eggs at Hufflepuff's table, but then when wasn't Peeves doing something to annoy someone? No, Harry decided that the something off was, in fact, a someone: Draco Malfoy, to be precise. Compared to the sassy and almost friendly way he had acted yesterday, he now slumped in his seat and looked half-asleep. Harry tried not to give this too much thought as he buttered his toast and talked to Ron about the upcoming match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. But he couldn't help cast a glance back a couple of times just to check on the Slytherin's Seeker. Confused about this sudden onset of concern, Harry drowned his thoughts in pumpkin juice and conversation.

Meanwhile, Draco, who'd had a sleepless and busy night, was again considering hitting his head on the table. He had stayed up to alter his costume for the Halloween party, and though he was pleased with the way it was coming along (his costume would make him as desirable as possible), he was pissed at himself for forgetting the Quidditch match.

Blaise turned to Malfoy with a concerned (yet angry) look on his face. "Didn't sleep?" The blonde simply grunted in reply. "Oh, that's bloody brilliant," Blaise scoffed. "Our team Seeker, the one who's supposed to have the quickest eye and reflexes, didn't sleep. For fuck's sake, Draco, you're the one who runs the team! What did you think we were training hard for the past week?! "

Malfoy smiled lightly and muttered: "The ballet."

"What?" Blaise asked sharply.

"Mm, nothing," Draco said tiredly. "Just remembered something I said to Harry once."

Blaise's dark brows raised in confusion at the name, but he remained on the topic at hand. "At any rate, see if Pomfrey will give you something to wake your arse up. Warm-ups start after breakfast and then it's game time in an hour."

Draco propped his elbow up on the table and rested his face in his palm, one eye closed. "No mean to be rude, Zabini, but I get the picture."

"Do you really?" he snapped back. "As your friend, I dragged your sorry self out of bed this morning and reminded you to put on Quidditch gear. But now I'm not just your friend, I'm your Beater- and you're a sorry excuse for a Seeker and a Captain. Pull yourself together."

Draco sighed heavily; he hated to admit it, but the bastard sitting beside him was right. "Fine," he said, stretching and sitting up straight. "You're a sodding prick, but fine."

Blaise clapped him on the back. "There's the arsehole we all know and love. Now hurry and eat something before we have to leave." The Malfoy nodded, loaded his plate with hash browns and kielbasa, and had just put the first forkful into his mouth when Pansy popped up beside him and whispered: "Your boyfriend's been looking at you, ya know." Malfoy coughed, choking on the stringy fried potatoes until he forced them down with some juice. Feeling less tired and considerably riled, the blonde turned to glare at the giggling girl. "I suppose you found that funny, didn't you, Parkinson?"

"Yes," she said sweetly, pecking him on the cheek and sitting down to her own meal.

"Matter of fact, I found it funny,too," Theodore Nott said from across the table. "But what was this about a-"

"- a boyfriend?" Blaise supplied, smirking at Malfoy. The blonde took another bite and glowered at Pansy menacingly.

"Eh-heh, that was whispered a little louder than I intended," she said a bit sheepishly. "But, if you must know-"

"MMMPHFF!" Draco threatened through a mouthful.

"If you must know," Pansy chuckled, "I was simply teasing him. You see, I want to figure out what the answer to that Truth was." Draco's glare dulled a fraction and he continued eating.

"Aw, and here I thought you'd have some real news for us," Blaise said with a crooked sneer. "After all, I over heard some Gryffindors in the hallway last night talking about how interesting potions class was yesterday . . . " Draco's eyes widened with horror; Blaise knew! What if he told the others?!

"Oh, please," Theo said. "Like you can trust what a Gryffindor says about our house, more than half of it's all rubbish. Besides, if Draco had a boyfriend, we'd all know instantly."

Draco felt his panic recede slightly, and tiredly said: "Though my personal business is my own, I will admit that I do not currently have a significant other. Leave it at that." Blaise and Pansy sniggered at the response while Theo and other nearby Slytherins looked disappointed. The sole Gryffindor to look their way and see a tired, harried Draco quickly turned away.

Quidditch warm-ups flew by for Draco, who was still feeling rather tired, and the game was to begin. The stands were crowded and noisy, cheers not only coming from members of the playing houses, but from supportive Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors as well. The infamous trio squeezed into a spot by Luna and Neville, with Ron cradling Hermione's smaller body in his arm to protect her from the crowds.

Luna looked up into the sky and smiled dreamily. "Beautiful day for a match, isn't it?"

Hermione looked up at the slightly overcast sky and nodded as she took out a couple of miniature blue flags. "It sure is," she agreed. As the girls began to talk, Ron and Neville put on blue face paint, and turned to put it on Harry, though he was already done up.

"Blimey, Harry, have you gone mental!?" Ron cried. The others looked over to see what the fuss was about and gasped lightly; Harry had done half of his face in Ravenclaw blue, the other half in Slytherin green.

"Harry, what the devil-" Neville began, but his girlfriend cut him off.

"I think it looks wonderful," Luna said. "It's nice to see more unity now that the war's over, isn't it?" And with that, she took the jar of green paint out of his hands and put a streak on her face.

"Don't tell me you're gonna do that when Slytherin plays us?" Ron asked Harry angrily.

"I won't," Harry said firmly. "You know that. Aside from being the damn team captain, I have house pride. It's just . . . . like Luna said; the war's over, so we should all try to get along better."

The Weasley was about to protest when Hermione said: "He's right, Ronald. Cooperation is what makes it possible for our school to thrive. So, even though I never expected to do this-" she turned one of her flags green, and shouted: "Go Slytherin! Go Ravenclaw!" Luna and Harry cheered along, while Neville looked conflicted and Ron looked sick.

Harry turned his puppy dog eyes onto his best friend. "Come on, mate, they aren't playing us." Ron grumbled about pushy chosen ones but put a single dot of green on his cheek anyway. "There, ya sod. Happy now?"

"Quite," Harry said with a smile, returning his attention to the players in the air, particularly a poncy Slytherin. 'I'm a Seeker, too, so naturally I know how bad lack of sleep can be. That's why I'm worried about him,' Potter tried to convince himself. Hermione, dubbed smartest witch of her age for a reason, looked over at him curiously. She knew something was up with Harry and Malfoy, and when the time presented itself, she was going to ask what.

Hooch stepped out onto the field and looked up at the players. "Play fair, and play well," she commanded. "Begin!" She threw the Quaffle up into the air, and in a flurry of broomsticks, it began.

Malfoy and Stoneman (Ravenclaw's Seeker) soared through the air, each taking opposite sides of the goal posts to spot the Snitch. The Ravenclaw saw it first as it was on his side, and he dove towards it. Malfoy noticed and began to pursue the Snitch, his broom getting closer and closer to the Ravenclaw's as they followed the Snitch down by the grass and then up to the clouds.

The announcer (a 5th year Ravenclaw girl) enthusiastically reported. "Ten points to Ravenclaw for evading the Slytherin Keepers and making a goal! Oh, and there goes Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Seeker, right up against Ravenclaw Seeker, Charles Stoneman, who is in the lead. Get it, Stoneman, get it!"

Stoneman and Malfoy climbed ever higher into the clouds, until the game below them was completely lost. Both boys focused solely on the Snitch, witch was just out of reach. Malfoy noticed his breath get short from the height and began to slow down, yelling: "Stoneman! I'm not sure if we should go much higher! The Snitch isn't supposed to go so far up! The altitude's too much!"

Stoneman ignored him and plowed through, his breath short as the air thinned. Draco went up after him, but his head felt lighter by the second, and he no longer cared for the Snitch. "Stoneman, you idiot . . . stop!" he cried breathlessly. "There's . . . . something wrong with the Snitch . . . we can't go any higher!"

"You . . . just want . . . to trick me," Stoneman wheezed. "If . . . I stop . . . you'll take it . . . and win." With that, the Ravenclaw extended his arm further and flew faster, just in reach of the Snitch until the atmosphere caught up with him, and he began to fall, unconscious.

"Shit," Malfoy panted, turning his broom about and racing toward the Ravenclaw. Stoneman's broom flew out of the unconscious boy's grip, and he plummeted faster without its floating to aid him. The crowd wasn't able to see them yet, so Draco knew that the Headmistress wouldn't be able to cast a stopping spell. Left with no choice, he floored his Nimbus 2007 until he was floating beneath the falling Ravenclaw. "You bastard, Stoneman," Malfoy groaned, holding his arms out. "This is gonna hurt." Then, with a thud!, the Seeker landed on Malfoy full force and forced his broom down into a spiral. Draco gasped at the pain of impact from Stoneman's body, swearing he could hear a crack some from his left wrist. As he desperately tried to pull out of the spiral, the crowds below could finally see them, and they gasped in horror as a ball whizzed toward them.

"What in blazes is going on?!" the announcer shrieked. "It appears that Stoneman is on Malfoy's broom, and they're spiraling out of control! Oh, Merlin, they're going so fast they're almost at the ground! And the Bludger's headed for them! Headmistress, do something!"

McGonagall was already at her feet in the stands, and she raised her arms high. "Arresto Momentum!" The crowds watched with transfixed eyes, with no small amount of panic in Pansy and Harry, as the spell caused Draco and Stoneman to slow to a near stop. But then, the Bludger came swooping in, crashing into Malfoy's leg and jolting the broom. Hooch promptly vanished the ball, and McGonagall stepped out onto the pitch, conjuring a floating stretcher.

"Everyone is to remain seated in the stands until further notice!" she yelled, enhancing her volume with her wand. Pansy was crying with fear for Draco, and the other team players were landing and looking on helplessly at the two kayoed Seekers.

"Headmistress," Blaise started, "What the hell happened up there?"

"I am sure I do not know, Mr. Zabini," she said, levitating the boys onto stretchers much as Dumbledore had done for Harry in third year. "But I trust that you will mind the team in Draco's absence, and that the Ravenclaws will do the same with their team. We will do our best to heal them, that is a promise." Blaise nodded stiffly, and all of the players took a step back so that Hooch and McGonagall could take the boys to the hospital wing, where Pomfrey's skills were sure to be useful.

Up in the stands, nearly everyone looked stricken. "I hope they're all right," Hermione fretted. "Even if it is Malfoy, he's been civil and almost cordial lately."

"Maybe the blow will bring him back to his normal rotten self, then," Ron muttered.

"Hey!" Harry yelled, surprising his friends. "Quidditch players got hurt today. Would you mind not treating it as a joke?" Ron looked at him strangely but nodded just the same. The boy with the lightning scar looked out at the stretchers as they faded out of view and hoped that everyone was alright, especially Draco.

~~~Got a bit heavy, and longer than expected, but don't worry, it's almost Halloween party time! That is, if Draco's feeling up to it by then . . .


	5. Chapter 5

~~~A/N:Hospital times, but don't worry, it's cute! Enjoy! :D

Draco awoke in the hospital with searing pains emanating from his wrist and leg, with throbbing pain coursing through the rest of his body. "Uuugh," he groaned, wincing as he sat up in his hospital bed. "What happened?" Hearing no reply, he opened his eyes and was greeted by darkness. Reaching out to the bedside table blindly, he felt around for a lamp and, having found one, turned it on. Sighing, he stretched his right arm (the one not in a cast) and squinted at the clock. _'Eleven,'_ he thought. _'No wonder I'm alone . . . unless that prat Stoneman is in here.' _He looked around, but saw no other occupants in the hospital but himself. "Great," he grumbled, "The arse didn't even get hurt enough to stay overnight. I should of let him fall. Would have served him right."

"Come on, Draco, you're not that heartless," a voice said out of nowhere.

"What the-" Draco looked around, and though he saw no one, he thought he recognized the voice. "Harry, is that you?"

Harry peeled off his invisibility cloak and showed that he was sitting on the bed across from Malfoy. "Right here," he said with a grin.

"Merlin's beard, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Draco yelled.

The Gryffindor chuckled. "Sorry, couldn't resist. And keep your voice down- Madame Pomfrey's living quarter is inside her office just there-" he pointed to her office door at the other side of the room "- so we have to be quiet."

"Fine," Malfoy said with a slight shiver. "But what are you doing here in the first place, Potter? I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be the good ones who stayed in their beds past curfew. Yet here you are, sneaking around to see me." Putting his walls up, Draco looked at Harry challengingly. "Why?"

Harry's cheeks warmed."Er, well, I know how rough nights like this can be, and . . . well, they're lonely. Unless you count the time Dobby visited me, but that wasn't exactly pleasant . . . Look, all I'm trying to say is that, if I were you, I would like some company on a night like this."

"How articulate," Malfoy said dryly, rubbing his shoulder with his good arm as another shiver racked through his body. Harry noticed this and stood up.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"Only a little," Draco said, but his teeth began to chatter lightly. Looking around at his bed and the nearby ones, he puzzled: "Where did all the blankets go?"

"Don't know. They were here earlier, but when I came back just a few minutes ago they were gone. If- if you need, I could go and get one from my common room, or . . ." Harry kept talking, but Draco tuned him out, lost in his thoughts. _'_

_ Wait-he was here before, too? Bloody hell, does the man have free time or what? He must if he's using it on me. Yeah, that's all. Free time . . . to visit me. More than once. He's . . . worried about me.' _A small smile crept onto the Slytherin's face before he could stop it, and he barely noticed that Harry was looking at him expectantly. "What?" he asked, snapping out of it.

"I asked if you wanted me to help warm you up,"Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

"Sure," Malfoy said, assuming he would conjure up a blanket. Instead, the brunette reached under his cloak and pulled out a bottle and two small glasses. Before Draco could make a smart remark, Harry was standing by his bed and nudging his good arm. "Scoot over," he said quietly. Malfoy's eyes widened but he scooted anyways, wishing he hadn't tuned out what Harry had said earlier. The Gryffindor sat next to Draco and stretched his legs out before pouring them each a glass of the drink he had brought.

Draco took the glass in a daze, feeling hyper aware of the body next to his and where they touched. Hoping that the other wouldn't notice this, he inquired: "What is this we're drinking?"

"Fire whiskey. It'll warm you up in no time," Harry said, downing his shot as Draco followed suit. Wanting to focus on anything but the warmth and good smell radiating off of the other boy, Draco cleared his throat and said: "So, tell me Potter-"

"I prefer Harry, if you don't mind," the green-eyed one said carefully.

"Tell me, Harry, what's the prognosis?"

"Well, your wrist broke in three spots when you caught Stoneman, and the Bludger fractured your leg. You also had a mild concuss-" Harry's voice cracked, so he tried again. "A mild concussion, which is why Pomfrey knocked you out with sleeping draughts."

"Don't tell me she used the ones we made in potions?" Draco asked with a laugh.

Harry laughed, too, and Draco marveled at the sound. "The very same,so long as Slughorn approved."

"Who won the game?"

"It was considered a draw. Your teams were tied and the game ended when both Seekers were incapacitated."

Draco snorted. "Then why isn't that arse Stoneman in here?"

Harry chuckled and topped off their glasses. "Because _you_ saved the arse. You wouldn't be here if you hadn't played hero. Well, then again you might be, considering the hit you took from the Bludger. How do you feel, by the way?" His green eyes pierced Draco's with concern.

"Aside from my throbbing wrist and leg, I feel better than I did earlier," the Slytherin admitted.

"That would be the whiskey. I reckon Peeves made off with the blankets, though. McGonagall cast a warming charm over you earlier, but I expect it's worn off over the hours."

Well there was a nice segue. "Speaking of which, why do you act as though you were here earlier? You explained your reasons for being here now, but not for being here before. Were you?" Draco asked, trying to hide his hope as he looked into Harry's eyes.

"Was I what?" he edged, adjusting his glasses and taking a sip of his drink.

"Were you here before?"

The Gryffindor blushed; these questions could very well reveal him, and it didn't help that he could feel every point of contact from their touching shoulders and hips to their ankles. Growing hotter by the second, Harry cleared his throat nervously. "Yeah, I had, um, nothing better to do. Are you warm yet?"

Draco looked into his glass to try and hide his flush. He was, in fact, _very _warm."Why do you ask?"

"Just because," Harry said, equally embarrassed by his outburst.

"'Because'? Could there be a *hic***** any more childish of a response?"

"Could you be any more of a lightweight?" Harry joked. "You've only had four shots."

Malfoy stuck his lip out in a pout and downed the glass in his hand. "Am not." He poured another shot from the proffered bottle and downed it. "What time ish it, anyway?" he asked, a slight slur to his words.

Harry twisted slightly so that he could read the bedside clock. "Quarter past midnight . . . I'm glad you're better, Draco."

" . . . thanks," he said quietly. "For thish."

Not wanting to break the moment, Harry whispered: "For what? I didn't mend your bones, Pomfrey did."

Draco, whose eyes were half closed, waved his good arm around. "For the fire whiskey and the warmth and the company . . .you're not always a complete prat, you know . .. " He yawned and shut his eyes.

"Wait, don't go to sleep yet!" Harry hissed desperately. "What did you mean by, well, all of that?"

A small smirk tugged at the corners of the Slytherin's lips, and he answered with a dreamy "Because . . . " before succumbing to sleep completely. The Gryffindor couldn't contain a smile at the look of peace written across Draco's sleeping face.

_'Maybe we should just keep him asleep,' _he mused. _'He looks so cute this way . . . I'm going crazy. I think that bloody Malfoy is cute! But, then again, he isn't just another Malfoy anymore. He's Draco, and crazy as it is, I like him. Ugh, Ron would kill me if I . . . if we ever actually . . . ' _Harry sighed with frustration, but his trouble felt alleviated as he brushed the pale bangs away from Draco's face. _'I am crazy, but I don't mind.' _With that, he carefully got up and pulled the cloak over himself; he couldn't stay with Draco and risk being caught, but that didn't mean he would let him freeze either. Using his invisibility to his advantage, he went to Pomfrey's chamber and knocked on the door loudly.

"Wha-?," she yawned as she pulled open the door. "Is that you, Malfoy?" She moved around the hospital slowly, squinting by the candle light as she approached the Slytherin's bed. "Oh dear," she mumbled. "Peeves must've taken all the blankets. Bet that was him at my door. I'd best get Draco something to keep him warm." The old healer bustled off to fetch a blanket from her room, and Harry kept watch unnoticed until she put a comforter over Malfoy and went back to bed. Convinced that the blonde was well taken care of, the brunette turned to head back to Gryffindor tower. Though he may have looked back once or thrice.

~~~ I know, so corny. XD I can't help it. But you _can _write reviews, so please do so! Only one day left in the story before Halloween party time! And where _did _those blankets go?


	6. Chapter 6

~~~A/N: Back from my trip, so here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

Morning sun streamed into the hospital wing as Draco awoke groggily, with half-memories forming in his mind. He knew that Harry had been there for him, and he remembered most of their conversation, but the last few moments were fuzzy from sleep and whiskey. It was obvious that someone had gotten him a blanket (since he was covered by one now), but he couldn't be sure if everything he remembered had actually happened. He worriedly wondered if he had given Harry an inkling of his feelings for him, then shuddered at the memory of Harry pressed to his side, keeping him warm. _That_, he knew, was very real; he could still smell that spicy cologne if he put his face to the bed . . . Approaching footsteps snapped him out of his daze, and he saw Pomfrey headed his way, flanked by Pansy, Blaise, and Theodore.

"Dray, darling, how are you?" Pansy cried, rushing to his side to give him a cautious side-hug.

"Nearly optimal," he said, slowly stretching his arms and legs. "My wrist still smarts a bit, but other than that, much better."

"Good," Pomfrey said with a sigh, inspecting his limbs herself. She smiled and poured him a tablespoon of what looked like maple syrup, saying: "Your breaks have been mended successfully, and any lasting pain in your wrist should be temporary. Here, take this." He took the spoon from her hand and gingerly took a sip of the honey tasting substance. Instantly, warmth coursed through his body, concentrating in his wrist before turning into a numbing chill, completely eliminating the pain.

"Wow," he said quietly, flexing his wrist and feeling no jabs or aches. "Thanks."

Madam Pomfrey gave a wrinkled smile and nodded. "You should be able to get to the rest of your classes today. Come see me in my office when you're ready and I'll write you a pass." With that, she turned and headed back to her office. Blaise clapped Draco on the shoulder. "Glad to see you back, man. After all, we wouldn't want you to miss the party tomorrow night." He winked, and Draco sighed as the others laughed.

"Seriously, though," Theo said, "we're all glad to hear you're ok."

"Weird that all the blankets disappeared, though," Pansy whispered in Draco's ear. He looked up to see if the guys had heard (they hadn't), then turned to her and hissed: "And just how do you know about that?"

She smiled slyly. "Oh, I have my connections . . ."

"We'll talk about that later," he growled. "In length."

Pansy giggled and started: "The only length I know of is yours when Harr-"

"Enough!" he commanded. "I don't know who told you about that visit, but trust me, we didn't do anyth-"

"What visit?" Theo asked curiously.

"Oh, yes, Draco, do tell!" Blaise said with a smirk.

Draco gave Pansy an I'll-kill-you-later look and said: "Parkinson was just remarking that I have had many visitors whilst being in the hospital."

"But who would visit you that you wouldn't want us to know about, hmm?" Theo inquired.

Malfoy bit down his panic and smoothly lied: "Just some third-year Gryffindor girl, I can barely remember since I was half-asleep."

Blaise didn't look as though he believed that answer, but Theo laughed and said: "Fangirls wherever you go; poor Draco."

"Yes, yes. Now onto a more productive subject, would one of you sods care to tell me what class I'll be headed to?"

"Lunch," Pansy supplied. "We were let out of Potions a few minutes early to visit you and see if you were awake yet."

'_Damn,' _he though. _'I missed class with Harry . . . but it's his fault for getting me drunk.' _"Alright, then, I'll get my excuse form Pomfrey and head to lunch. Just leave me be a moment so I can change."

Blaise nodded and the group stepped back so that Draco could close the curtains around his bed and change. Once he was ready, he instructed the group to wait in the hall for him when he got his note. He had a question for the healer.

"Here you are," Pomfrey said, handing him a piece of parchment. "Show this to the professors whose classes you missed and they will excuse you."

"Thank you . . . Before I go, may I ask you something?"

She turned to him, confused, and said: "Yes."

"If all of the blankets disappeared last night, how did I come to have one on this morning?"

"Oh, I woke up to the sound of someone rapping on my door (probably Peeves) and when I went to check on you I saw that the blankets had gone. I assume the ghost only meant to annoy me, but he ended up making it so that you were kept warm. Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes," he said distractedly. "That is all. Thank you, again."

"You're welcome," she said sweetly as he left the room, thoughts buzzing around in his mind. He knew that the blankets were gone for hours before someone knocked on Pomfrey's door, so he thought it was unlikely to have been the same ghost twice. More likely was the possibility that a certain invisible Gryffindor had been concerned about him and took matters into his own hands. Draco smiled to himself; that had to be it. But who took the blankets to begin with? Stepping into the hall, he walked up to his friends and they began to head to the Great Hall. Deciding that this was a good time, Draco leaned down to Pansy's ear and whispered: "What exactly do you know about the missing blankets?"

"Well, I figured that your precious crush would come visit you again after hours, so I arranged to have your warmth taken and then replaced."

"'Arranged'? And just what do you mean by that?"

Pansy chuckled. "Let's just say a certain Slytherin ghost was easily persuaded."

The blonde nearly smacked himself; of _course _the Bloody Barron was involved! "Anything to get at me," Draco sighed. "Our house ghost is a real prick. And you're no better for setting me up! What if Harry hadn't come by to - warm me?" Draco blushed a little at the way that sounded.

Pansy shrugged. "Then Madame Pomfrey or the Barron would've noticed. I sent him in to check on you around three; I'm not so horrible as to let my injured Prince freeze!"

"Fine," he sighed as they turned into the noisy Great Hall. "I'll let you live, out of the kindness of my black heart."

"What's this about kindness in your black heart?" Blaise asked, breaking away from his conversation with Theo. "I didn't know there was any! Is there some for me?"

Draco groaned as he sat down at the Slytherin table. "What do you want, Zabini?"

"Well, there's a potions exam coming up that I could use some help on . . ."

"Oh, no, absolutely not. I have to do that stupid dare of yours tomorrow night, so why would I help you in potions? I see no benefit in it for me," he sniffed haughtily as he placed food on his plate.

"Name your price," Blaise said.

"Call off the dare."

"Not a chance, mate- we're all looking forward to that too much. Anything else."

"Anything?" Draco mused. Blaise fidgeted but nodded. Malfoy turned around and looked over at the Gryffindor table with a grin. "Let me see . . ."

After lunch and two boring lectures in Astronomy and Charms, it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts to end the school day. Draco entered the room with his usual aristocratic confidence in place, only to go weak in the knees when he saw Harry. The Gryffindor looked as charming as ever with his messy hair, and he was standing before the board, as though he were going to teach the class. Draco was confused by that last part, but he sat at his desk anyway in anticipation of the class. Blaise owed him, after all; it was only a matter of time before he became useful.

Once everyone was in class and settled down, Harry raised his voice and said: "Kingsley won't to make it to class today because he's on a stakeout; I'm not supposed to tell you anything else. However, since class was scheduled to take place today, I'm going to be teaching you the Patronus charm. Some of you already know it from the past, but McGonagall wants me to reinforce it since there are still some Dementors loose from the war. The most recent sighting was in Duff town, where Aurors were sent to capture it. It's gone now, but it is still important to learn this in case others arrive. Alright, first I'm going to explain the basic components that conjure a Patronus. First off, you need a memory . . ." Harry went on explaining technique behind the charm while Draco spent half of his time listening and the other half staring at the day's teacher.

_'Quidditch is paying off,' _Malfoy thought happily as he appreciated the view._'You can see his muscles through those clothes if you know where to look. Explains why he felt so strong leaning against me last night. I wonder if he works out . . . ' _He snapped out of his reverie when he heard the sounds of chairs scraping the floor; the class was pushing their desks against the back wall. Coming to a stand, he was about to do the same when a hand overlapped his on the desk.

"You just got out of the hospital with a broken wrist and leg," Harry admonished lightly, his warm breathe tickling the Slytherin's ear. "I'll move your desk."

Draco stepped aside and drawled: "If you insist. Free country and all." He was shaking from the contact. Once all of the desks had been moved, Harry stood in the center of the room with his wand raised.

"Now, I'm going to demonstrate with my Patronus, and them you all can try to conjure your own," he said. "Here goes. Expecto Patronum!" A burst of silver light came form the tip of his wand and took the shape of a stag. The class stared as it pranced around the room, before Harry guided it back to himself and ended the charm. "All right, everyone practice, and if you need help just ask." The Boy Wonder stepped back and began talking to Ron, who already knew how to cast his Patronus (a dog). However, he kept an eye on his classmates as they began to practice, and one in particular caught his eye.

"So, Harry," Ron started, "What is it you plan to dress as tomorrow night? Hermione won't tell me what she's going as, and I-"

"Hang on, Ron," Harry said as he took a step forward. "I think someone needs my help." He walked up to Draco, who was looking at his wand but not saying anything. "Everything alright, Draco? Is it your wrist or leg acting up?" Harry asked with concern.

"No," Draco said. "Just . . . . trying to think of a memory that will work."

"Well, as long as it's a truly happy memory, you shouldn't have any problems," Harry supplied. "Just try a few; you won't get it the first try, but once you get the hang of it-"

"I lied," Draco said flatly, staring at Nott's wand as a fox Patronus emerged.

"Wait, what?"

"I have happy memories I could use, but Death Eaters didn't cast Patroni for a reason, Harry. Their souls had been stained; something beautiful like this shouldn't be able to come from that. So even though I didn't want to be one, I won't be able to conjure one of these. I know it." Blaise and Nott shot him a look of sympathy from where they practiced a few feet away, and Harry's eyes widened with surprise.

"Hey," Harry said, putting his hand on Draco's shoulder. "You didn't make the choice to side with Voldemort like others did, your family forced you into it. I understand that now. Patroni _are_ beautiful charms, and I know that something like that could come from you, Draco. Please, just try it."

The Slytherin's icy eyes met with Harry's and he felt his throat tighten. Coughing lightly, he said: "Fine, I will try it." He raised his wand, and shouted: "Expecto Patronum!" Nothing. He tried again, remembering a holiday he had spent with Pansy and Blaise. "Expecto Patronum!" Silver wisps erupted from his wand before fading away.

"You're almost there," Harry encouraged, ducking as a hawk Patronus flew over him. "Focus on a really strong memory, and move your arm-" Draco stilled as Harry grabbed his wrist and slightly adjusted the position of his arm, "- like this. Try again."

Draco exhaled and focused his thoughts on the night before, recalling every detail of Harry's smile, firm body, and scent (which was wafting from him at present, too). He smiled at the though of Harry knocking on Pomfrey's door so that she would get him a blanket, and how he had visited him multiple times, even when he was asleep at first. Letting all of that build up inside of him, Draco shouted once more: "Expecto Patronum!" The force of the light took the class by surprise and some covered their eyes as a spectral deer sprang out of his wand and ran around the classroom before vanishing into the air. Blaise, Theo, Ron, Harry, and the class turned to face the Malfoy heir in surprise. Others had cast Patroni, but none other than Harry could conjure one as strong as that.

Slowly, Blaise started clapping, and the rest of the class followed suit. "Well done, Malfoy!" Someone yelled from the crowd. He grinned and gave a small bow, saying: "No autographs, if you please."

Harry chuckled and leaned toward Draco. "Well done, indeed," he said.

"You're just easily impressed. I knew I could do it."

Harry raised his eyebrow at the false bravado but smiled all the same. Draco may have had his doubts, but Harry knew that a Patronus was in him all along. They were beautiful creatures, after all; one beauty from another. He walked away to stand by Weasley again and said: "I'm insane, Ron."

"Obviously. But why start admitting that you're mental now?" Ron asked with a grin.

"Because," Harry said, "it's only been a few days since I've started really talking to this person, but . . . I think I'm in love or something."

Ron's eyes widened as did his smile. "No way! Who's the lucky girl?"

Harry's smile flickered but he said: "Um, you'll see. It'll be a surprise on Halloween when I tell them."

"Good luck to ya, mate!" Ron said happily.

"Thanks," Harry said, his gaze drifting until it found the object of his affection. "I'm gonna need it."

~~~ OMG, the L-word! Thank you for reading, as always, and the next chapter is the Halloween party at last! :D

~~To my recent guest reviewer, if you're reading this, the rest of the story is still being written, which is why it is marked as 'In Progress.' If you log into your Fan Fic account, you can follow stories and get updated each time new chapters are posted. Hope that helps. :)


	7. Chapter 7

~~~A/N: Halloween at last!

Outside, the air was crisp and cool, the grounds were covered in red and gold leaves, and the Whomping Willow swayed in the breeze. Inside, Hogwarts was abuzz with merriment and hijinks; Halloween had finally arrived! The Great Hall was decorated with black candles, jack-o-lanterns, cobwebs (though those might have been there before), and paper bats that flew over the tables. The ceiling reflected a stormy night sky complete with full moon, and there was a bountiful feast full of fall-themed foods and candies. In addition to the cheerful atmosphere, classes for the day were canceled, and a fall festival was underway outdoors. Everyone was in a pleasant mood . . . well, almost everyone.

Draco sat in the Slytherin common room grumbling about Blaise as he put the finishing touches on his costume. He wouldn't be wearing it until the party started at nine that night, but he figured it was best to get it out of the way while he could. After adjusting the color on the last stripe, he took a step back and examined the costume from head to toe. "Not bad at all," he mused with a sly grin, quickly vanishing it when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Draco, dearest!" Pansy sang out as she skipped into the room with Blaise at one arm and Theo at the other. "We're going down to the festival; are you coming with?"

"I suppose," he drawled, standing up and stretching. "Just let me get my cloak." Going to his room, he sauntered over to his wardrobe and groped around for his cloak until his fingers brushed against a long , smooth cashmere surface. Hauling his cloak out of the over-stuffed wardrobe was a challenge, but Draco managed. After giving himself a quick once-over in the mirror, he smoothed his hair and rejoined his friends in the common room and set out for the festivities.

They left the portrait and stepped onto the staircase, with Pansy talking quickly and excitedly to the boys on her arms. As the stairs began to move, Malfoy pondered about the day prior's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. He had been so surprised that he had even conjured a Patronus, that he hadn't stopped to think about what it said about him._ 'A deer . . . how in the hell am I a deer?' _he wondered. Then it clicked, and if the stairs hadn't been moving him, he surely would have frozen in place._ 'Wait, wasn't Harry's Patronus a stag? Oh . . . shit! This is stark raving mad! Complementary Patroni . . . what could that indicate? Surely he doesn't feel the same for me as I do about him ? But then, I haven't exactly labeled my feelings for him, have I? Bloody hell, now I don't even know what to think-'_

"Earth to Draco!" Blaise snapped.

"What?" he asked quickly, pulled from his inner thoughts that threatened spontaneous brain combustion.

"The stairs stopped moving thirty seconds ago. Get moving!"

"Oh," Draco said, stepping off of the stairs and into a hallway. Pansy looked at him concernedly, and he fought the urge to spill the beans right then and there. "Where are Crabbe and Goyle?" he asked as a distraction while they headed outside.

"Already at the festival," Theo said, "No doubt buying out the bake sale."

Blaise chuckled. "At least the money goes back to the school."

"Yeah, whereas the sweets go to their stomachs," Theo joked.

Pansy sniggered and said: "Oh, come on, we love the numb skulls anyway."

Draco scoffed and raised his eyebrow as they walked through the grass. "Now define 'love' . . ." His words trailed off as he noticed the magnitude of the word. It really said a lot, didn't it? He thought of all the people he loved in his life; his mother Narcissa, his friends (though he wasn't likely to admit that), and though he wasn't supposed to admit it at the time, he had fiercely respected Severus Snape for being a double agent. _'Maybe there's room for one more. Even if it means losing my mother's and some of my friends' company over it, I deserve to try . . .' _

"Dray!" Blaise warned.

"What?" he asked, looking up just in time to collide full-force with someone's back. They fell, and Draco quickly rolled off of the other and looked to see who it was. "Charles Stoneman . . ." he groaned. "Great."

"Pleasure to see you again, too, Malfoy," the Ravenclaw huffed, getting to his feet. "So why exactly did you just push me when two days ago you attempted to save me?" the Ravenclaw Seeker inquired .

"I did not push you," Draco said calmly, "but I would be justified if I had. And I didn't_ attempt_ to save you, I _did_ save you. Landed my arse in the hospital wing with broken bones, too, thanks to you."

"Look, you may have thought you were saving me from a nasty fall, but you didn't do me that much of a favor. McGonagall would have stopped my descent and you would've been fine. In fact . . . all you really did was distract me while I was going for the Snitch. You just wanted it for yourself, you Slytherin, so I don't want to hear you pissing and moaning because you tried to play hero for the first time in your rotten life! That role doesn't suit you, Malfoy- it never has and never will. If it weren't for you, Ravenclaw would have won the match. I would have won! You're just a lying, cheating bastard, through and through!"

"The hell he is," Harry growled from behind the Ravenclaw. Blaise, who had started toward Stoneman angrily, hung back with Theo and Pansy to watch how this would play out.

"Excuse me?" Stoneman asked, fury writ across his features as he turned to face the dark-haired Gryffindor. "You're joking, right? Harry fucking Potter standing up for a Slytherin like Malfoy? Good trick, Potter; happy Halloween. Now leave us be," he said, turning to face Draco, who met his eyes with cool and calculated rage. A crowd of students abandoned their activities at the festival a few hundred yards away to form a circle around the group; they could smell a fight brewing.

"Ron," Hermione whispered nervously as they came upon the scene, "what's Harry doing there?! He shouldn't get in a fight, he'll be in trouble. Come, let's find a teacher before it gets ugly!" She tugged on his sleeve urgently, and Ron followed her as they ran toward the festival.

"You know, I hate to say it," he panted, "but my money's on Malfoy. That Stoneman guy is a real prick." Hermione nodded in agreement and kept on running.

Inside the circle of students, Harry stepped in front of Draco protectively. "What are you doing?" The Slytherin asked in bewilderment. "Get your arse out of the way before Stoneman hexes it!"

"No," Harry said firmly. "This fight is pointless on his part. You saved the idiot from himself and the force of gravity and ended up in the hospital as a result. Now he wants to fight you? No. Way."Harry gritted his teeth and shot a green-eyed, soul-curdling glare at the Ravenclaw, who flinched.

"Oh you brave Gryffindor," Stoneman said mockingly. "Standing up for the weak, even if they're Slytherins. How noble."

"I'm not being brave," Harry replied, "I'm just doing the right thing."

"Too bad that will land you and your Slytherin pet in the hospital. Say good bye to your boyfriend, Draco; he won't be conscious to protect you now. Stupefy!"

"Protego!" Draco yelled, a shield blocking the hex just in time.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as the blonde stood beside him.

"Keeping us out of trouble, you idiot. If we block his spells but don't return fire, he'll be the one expelled, not us." Draco put up another shield as Stoneman tried to curse them again. "Are you with me or against me, scar head?"

Harry smiled at the deviousness of Draco's plan. "With you," he said as a flash of light bounced off the shield. "Always with you." Their eyes met, and time seemed to slow as they leaned toward one another. Their lips were mere inches away from each other when they suddenly heard a shriek across the field.

"MR. STONEMAN!" Headmistress McGonagall bellowed. "Lower you wand this instant!" The attack ceased immediately, and Draco dropped the shield to see Minerva looking at the Ravenclaw with sheer disgust, as though he were a bloated flobber worm."I cannot believe you would attack two students, especially when one of them just happened to save your life!"

"But I- but Malfoy didn't-" Stoneman spluttered.

"Silence! You are hereby suspended form the day's activities. You are prohibited from attending the Halloween party tonight, and you will spend the day serving detention with Mr. Filch. If I ever hear of you planning to do something like this again, you will be expelled. Understood?"

"Yes mam," he squeaked, all former traces of bravado completely gone. Blaise had to clap his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Filch is currently scrubbing out the third floor lavatories. If you aren't there assisting him in five minutes, you will wish you had never crossed me. Go." Stoneman ran back to the castle in fear for his life, and McGonagall slowly turned toward Draco and Harry. "It is plain to see that you were maintaining a shield charm to block his spells. I trust you did not return the favor and hex him?"

Draco shook his head. "No, mam," Harry said. The crowd affirmed their statement, and the wise headmistress nodded. "Very well. Return to the festival, everyone; the bake sale has been replenished," she cast a side-glance at Crabbe and Goyle, whose arms were full of sweets, "and Hagrid has some interesting creatures on display." The swarm of students departed, but Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Pansy, and Theo all rushed up to the boys.

"Harry, are you all right? What about you Malf- Draco?" Hermione asked, looking Harry over.

"We're fine, Hermione, really," Harry said, giving her a small hug to ease her worry. "But how did McGonagall know what was going on?"he asked.

"Oh," Ron said, "'Mione and I went to her and told her there was a fight on."

"It's a good thing you did," Pansy said, checking Draco over.

"Yeah," Theo said. "I mean, Draco's shield was strong, but that Stoneman idiot was really pissed."

"I bet he's kicked off of Ravenclaw's team, now," Blaise said. "They wouldn't want a glory-hungry moron like that to represent them. I think the Sorting Hat was drunk when it decided to put him in Ravenclaw." Everyone laughed at that, and the tension cleared away as they headed to the festival. Once there, the combined groups stuck together, recounting Stoneman's idiocy long into the day. At one point, Draco even leaned into Harry while he was laughing, and neither of them minded at all. Ron may have looked slightly disturbed, but it was his loss; everything was going smoothly. As the night wore on, the party approached, so everyone went their separate ways to get in costume. Draco studied himself in the mirror, turning this way and that to inspect every angle. After adjusting his lapels, he grinned and burst into the Slytherin common room, where his friends and classmates waited.

"Let's do this," he said excitedly, and they proceeded down to the ballroom, where the party was waiting for them.

~~~ Don't get me wrong- I usually love Ravenclaws, but I figure there's enough house stereotyping dictating that Slytherins are the only jerks in Hogwarts. Thus, Stoneman's character was born. Party is next chapter! Also, it would make Draco happy if you reviewed. :)


	8. Chapter 8

~~~A/N:Party time at last! And my apologies to those of you who read Chapter 7 while its format was screwy. Here, have some sexy Draco and fluffy Drarry moments as recompense. And, as always, enjoy! :)

Once inside the ballroom, it was nearly impossible to believe it existed as a part of the school. It was a world apart, lavishly decorated with antique furnishings, intriguing oddities, and macabre artifacts that looked as though they had emerged from Knockturn Alley shops like Borgin and Burke's. Floating candles provided contrast of light and shadow, while a massive chandelier hung over head and cast a warm glow over the party. The atmosphere tingled with vivacity as costumed witches and wizards meandered about with their friends, danced, sampled the food, and enjoyed the night. It was shaping up to be the perfect Halloween party.

As soon as Draco Malfoy set foot in the room, heads were turned. His pale silver dress shirt resided underneath a sequined black and green striped vest. His black slacks clung lovingly to his legs, and his black and white dress shoes were polished enough to reflect the light as though they were mirrors. The cat element of his fashion was there, too, for he indeed wore ears and a tail-though they were not the fluffy costume ones the Bloody Barron and Blaise had supplied. No, his ears and tail were sleek, comprised of black, white, and silver fur that shone. He had gone so far as to add a lifelike charm that made the tail and ears move according to his movement and emotions. And every detail, down to the last emerald cufflink and pewter button, screamed Slytherin royalty.

Draco feigned indifference as he strolled into the room and headed for the refreshments table with Pansy on his arm. Oh, he knew he looked beyond good! Fetching a glass of apple cider, he headed over to the table where Blaise and Nott waited for him.

"Damn it, Draco, you tricked us!" Theo groaned from behind his mummy bandages. "I didn't know you would alter the costume!" Draco looked up from his spicy drink and smirked.

"And I didn't know you assumed I would leave it be. That tacky pink and purple costume was a disaster! I have simply taken the idea of it and enhanced its elegance and sex appeal."

"I'll say," Pansy crooned. "Just look around and see how the witches drool after you. Some wizards, too, I bet." Draco did look around and saw that Pansy was right; he was still being stared at, much to the dismay of several jealous wizards. However, the most important wizard to him had yet to appear.

"Where is that Gryffindor prat anyway?" he mused. Theo smiled and winked at Blaise, who stood beside him in Draug makeup.

"I knew it all along," Blaise said with a flash of his pearly white teeth.

"Knew what?" Malfoy asked, pretending an utter lack of interest.

Zabini leaned down and whispered: "Your thing for Potter. Don't be mad at Pansy, she didn't tell me; or Theo, for that matter. I had it figured out before we even played Truth or Dare, and I told Theo-"

Malfoy froze. "You what?!" he growled, glaring up at his friend. "You already knew the answer to my Truth, yet you asked me anyway? Did you want me to embarrass myself at the party tonight?!"

Blaise laughed. "Cool your jets. Although you embarrassing yourself would be funny, I knew you couldn't leave the costume the way it was. Besides, I'm sure your boyfriend wouldn't have mind if you wore the original one either."

Draco shuddered at the memory of fuzzy booty shorts and grouched: "He's _not _my boyfriend."

"Yet," Pansy said with a smile, which revealed her vampire fangs. "Not just yet."

"Speak of the devil," Theo said, awestruck, "look who's coming in just now." The group of Slytherins swiveled in their chairs to face the entrance, and had to refrain from dropping their jaws. Harry entered the room with a flourish, wearing a red velvet cape over black leather breeches and knee-high boots. His top was covered by an antique-looking white shirt and a golden chest plate bearing the Gryffindor crest. In one hand, he wielded a beautiful sword with rubies inlaid into the handle. In the other, he held a drink that Draco thought looked suspiciously like fire whiskey.

Harry smiled as he went past a gaggle of particularly weak-kneed girls, while Hermione (dressed as a blue nymph) and Ron (dressed as an Irish Quidditch player) followed him. Several wizards gawked at Hermione, who had tamed her curls enough that they lost their frizz and shone instead. Her outfit was all around enchanting, with subtle sparkles glinting on her cheeks, flowers in her hair, and charmed ears coming to a graceful, Elvin point. Even Ron looked desirable, as the green cloth complemented his hair while the chocolate-brown leather made his light blue eyes stand out.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but even Weasel looks good," Blaise commented.

"Hermione's dress is fantastic!" Pansy cried, fiddling with the hem of her satin black and purple dress. "Just look at the gossamer when it catches the light!"

"He looks really-" Draco started, but stopped when he saw that the trio was headed right for his table. Harry arrived first, nodding to everyone.

"You all look great," he said kindly, unable to keep his focus off of Draco. "Do you mind if we join you?"

"Not at all," Draco said politely, heart hammering in his chest. "But first introduce yourselves."

"Well, I am Godric Gryffindor," Harry said, giving a small bow. "Hermione made a replica of his real sword for me to use tonight."

"I am a forest nymph," Hermione said with a curtsey. "I was just reading a fascinating book on the way they influence the environment around them and I-"

"I'm one of the Irish," Ron said, sparing everyone from her speech about nymphs as he sat down between Harry and Blaise.

"You don't say?" Draco inquired, fighting the nervousness in his stomach as Harry sat by him. "And all these years I thought your red hair was a simple side-effect of too much pumpkin juice."

"Listen you-," Ron began, but his girlfriend shushed him.

"He was joking, dear," Hermione whispered, "you can't keep judging him so harshly. It's time to move away from all that, at least a little."

Ron didn't look very happy to hear that, but he nodded. He would try, for Hermione's sake and for Harry, who had been getting along with the Slytherin recently.

"Pansy," Hermione said as she took an offered cider from Ron, "are you a vampiress?"

Pansy nodded. "Yes. I bought this dress at an antiquities shop recently and spruced up the lace at the collar to match my theme. Do you . . ." she fumbled with her Slytherin pride and want of Gryffindor approval, "Do you like it?"

Hermione smiled as she looked over the coordinated ensemble. "The dress is beautiful, and your hair looks good styled up." The girls, having broken the ice, continued to gab about their costumes and the history behind the creatures they represented as the boys discussed the way others were dressed throughout the room.

"Longbottom looks stranger than usual," Theo said, squinting into the crowd. "What's with the lab coat and supply belt?"

"I think he's supposed to be a botanist," Harry supplied. "He's always been into plants and the like. I think his girlfriend, Luna, is supposed to be a pygmy puff."

"Ah," Blaise said, "That explains all of the pink fur glued to her dress."

"What d'you think Ginny is?" Ron asked Harry, staring in confusion at his sister as she danced with a Hufflepuff boy.

"I believe she's a sorceress," Draco replied, leaning forward in his chair to get a better look. "See the cosmic patterns on her hat and gown?"

"Oh," Ron said, "I thought she was supposed to be the sky, since her dress is dark blue."

Harry smiled at his best friend's logic and said: "Could be."

The party went on, with the mixed group conversing and eating. Once the clock struck eleven, signaling that only an hour remained before curfew, Ron took Hermione's hand and led her to the dance floor.

"How romantic," Pansy said with a smile. "Come now, boys; let's go dance!" Blaise and Theo chuckled but were pulled to their feet by the pushy girl and led onto the dance floor.

"Aren't you going to make Draco come, too?" Theo asked.

"No," Pansy said, smiling over at the large table which now had two occupants. "He's busy."

"Only an hour left," Harry said, stretching his arms over his head. Draco's left ear and tail twitched, and the Gryffindor laughed. "What was that for?"

"Hell if I know," Draco said, watching his tail for any further signs of movement. "They're supposed to respond to feelings or some such thing."

"What are you feeling right now?" Harry asked, legitimately curious and far too close to Draco for comfort. The Prince looked away and said: "Mostly boredom. No one to dance with, and my best friend already has her hands full with Blaise and Theo."

"Dance with me," Harry said.

Draco turned to look askance at him. "Here in front of the whole school!? Are you mad?"

"Maybe a little. But since your problem is with us being in front of the whole school, does that mean you would dance with me if we were somewhere more secluded?"

Draco felt his cheeks warm as he said: "I suppose. It's not as though I have anything else to do."

"Then come on," Harry said, tugging on his arm.

Draco rose and followed, saying: "The chaperones are going to ask us where we're going. We can't just waltz around the school right now."

Harry laughed that off. "Of course we can! Don't you remember how I visited you the other night?"

Draco dropped his voice to a whisper. "You mean you have that with you now? What kind of mischievous Gryffindor are you? And where does it fit, because those pants are way too tight for-" he cleared his throat. "I mean . . . you know what I mean."

"How articulate," Harry chuckled, blushing at the remark about his breeches. "I have an extension charm on my cloak pocket. We'll slip the invisibility cloak over us in the bathroom and head out the front door undetected."

"Fine," Malfoy said, following Harry into the restroom and getting under the cloak.

"I forgot how tight of a fit this was for more than one person," Harry said as he squished against Draco and watched the mirrors for any uncovered part. "I think we're just covered enough, though, provided you watch that tail. Come on, let's go." They left the bathroom, carefully squeezing through the crowd of dancing people and occasionally bumping into other students.

"Wait," Harry whispered as they shuffled past Ron and Hermione, who were dancing gracefully with each other. "Let me do something before we go."

"Just be careful not to be seen," Draco whispered back.

Slowly, Harry put his hands forward, still concealed by the cloak. Draco pressed into his back, either to stay hidden or possibly get closer, and the Potter gulped as his hands hovered just above Ron's waistline. "Here we go. Duck when I tell you to," he whispered, gripping Ron's belt loops and hissing "Duck!" as he pulled the Gryffindor's pants down to his ankles. Hermione gasped as her boyfriend's pants suddenly came down and the ball room erupted with laughter.

"What the fuck?!" Ron yelled in terror, scrambling to pull his pants up as the invisible boys left the room, howling with laughter.

"D-did you s-see his face?!" Harry forced out as he gasped for air.

"N-not just his, but Granger's too!" Draco said with a chuckle. "Merlin, Harry, I didn't know you were so devious!"

"He pranked me this morning by leaving a blast-ended skrewt in my bed. He deserved it," Harry explained as he guided Malfoy up a set of stairs.

"At least you're justified," Malfoy said, his tail swishing in merriment. _'That was so. . . fun,' _the cat-eared one thought. _'It's been a while since I could completely let loose like that. I didn't know he was so funny.'_

"Almost there," Harry said as they neared the end of a seemingly empty hall.

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "We wouldn't be headed to the Room of Requirement, would we?"

"Matter of fact, we are," Harry said. "I thought of a place a while back and I go to it when I want practice or alone-time. It will be perfect."

"What practice?"

"Dancing, of course," Harry said. "Now take off the cloak while I summon the gate."

Draco did as he was instructed, and an iron-wrought gate appeared on the wall. "A gate?" he asked. "I thought it only made doors."

"For inside rooms, yes," Harry said with a grin. "But this place isn't set inside." And with that, he opened the gate, revealing a lush green garden. Draco stepped inside, awestruck, and examined his surroundings. Before them lay a black and white marble courtyard, the different colored marble blocks forming what looked like a chess board without players. There were tall, nimble birch trees growing up out of spaces where blocks were missing. Beyond the courtyard there was grass that lead to hedge sculptures, rose bushes,ferns, and a small creek that was contained by more marble blocks.

"I'm impressed," he said reverently. "This is beautiful, Harry."

The Gryffindor smiled. "I thought you'd like it. Now," he bowed slightly, offering his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Draco felt nervous as all hell but took the hand anyways and said: "You may. Just let me vanish the feline parts of my ensemble." He waved his wand with his free hand and the ears and tail disappeared. Harry did the same, ridding himself of his sword, cloak, and chest plate.

"Now then," Draco said as they headed to the courtyard, hands still connected. "You asked me to dance, but since we're both males, I have to ask: who's leading?"

"Doesn't matter," Harry said. "You pick."

"I am," Draco decided, raising his left arm and resting his right hand on the other's waist with a blush. Harry put his right hand in Draco's left, and gripped Draco's shoulder with his left.

"Turning Waltz?" Harry inquired.

Malfoy nodded, trying to contain his emotions as he said: "On my beat, and traveling. One, two, three. One, two, three." The pair glided across the courtyard, polished shoes not daring to squeak as they held each other and let time slip by. Draco's grip on Harry's waist tightened, and Harry scooted closer until their chests were nearly touching.

"This is nice," Draco breathed happily. "Thank you for taking me here, Harry."

"You're welcome," the Gryffindor replied, begging time to stop so that they could stay like this forever more. "Thank you for dancing with me."

"You dance pretty well," Draco said with false nonchalance. "Otherwise I would have left."

Harry saw right through him and snorted. "Oh, please; as if you'd leave due to my ability. You're dancing with me because . . . why are you dancing with me?" He looked up to meet the blonde's eyes, never missing a step as their dance slowed.

"I . . .," the Prince was at a loss for words. "I don't know, actually. It just . . ."

"Feels right," Harry whispered.

"Yes. It feels right." They danced in silence for a time after that, until they both began to feel tired and decided to sit by the creek. Draco looked down at his shoes as Harry stared up into the false night sky above them. "Reckon it's past curfew now," Harry said. "Perhaps we should use the cloak to sneak into our dorms."

"Perhaps." Neither of them moved.

"We could always . . . sleep here," Harry said tentatively. "I mean, it's the Room of Requirement. All we have to do is require a bed and-" A large bed draped in fine blue silks suddenly appeared before them.

Draco's eyes widened at the thought of sleeping that close to Harry. "No. Absolutely not," he said, standing up and walking back toward the courtyard, toward the gate.

Harry stood up and followed him, saying: "Oh, come off it, Draco, you've already slept with me before." He paused when he realized what that implied. "I mean, er, you fell asleep next to me . . . when you were in the hospital . . . not the other thing-"

"You talk too much,Harry," Draco said, turning around to face him. "Fine. I'll stay here, but we have to make something clear first before I do."

"What?" Harry asked, desperately hoping he hadn't just scared his crush off.

Taking a deep breathe, Draco plucked up his courage, stepped forward ever so slightly, and said: "This," as he leaned down and kissed Harry.

~~~ They finally kissed! But I'm going to blackmail you, dearest reader; if you want them to kiss again next chapter, I need some reviews (devious, I know; it's my inner Slytherin coming out). See you next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

~~~A/N: I don't feel that this chapter is worthy of a mature rating, but things are a bit spicy to start with, just a heads up. This chapter is mostly filled with sweet and angsty couple stuff, but there is a hint of foreshadowing at the end that will lead up to the next problem in their lives. Enjoy!

His mind was reeling, but that didn't stop Harry from wrapping his arms around Draco's neck and kissing back fervently. _'His lips are so soft, and he tastes good,' _Harry thought blissfully as his eyes remained closed. _'I wouldn't give this up for anything.' _ Malfoy, too, was lost in the moment. _'He's kissing me back . . .' _ the Prince thought happily._ 'I didn't know it was possible, but he likes me, too. Oh, and he kisses so well . . .' _They broke the kiss when their lungs began to protest, making eye contact as they gasped for air.

"So," Potter said with a small smirk, "I take it you're staying here tonight?"

"Wouldn't dream of going anywhere else," Malfoy said with a smirk to match.

Harry chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. "Let's go to sleep, then, I'm tired." No sooner than the words left his mouth, two pajama sets appeared on the bed, one jet black and one navy blue.

"The Room of Requirements catches on to preference rather quickly," Draco remarked as they grabbed their pajamas. Deciding that he shouldn't be so shy (well, his equivalent of shy) around the other boy, Draco immediately slipped his vest and dress shirt off and slowly started buttoning up his black pajama top. Harry's eyes bulged and he blushed furiously, turning around to dress himself and do anything but look at the toned, pale Slytherin behind him. The boy who lived may have defeated Voldemort and thus saved the wizarding world, but he wasn't the bravest when it came to romance. Still, it couldn't hurt to peek, just for a second. Clinging to that thought, he slowly turned his head to look back . . . only to meet Draco's shameless gaze as his pale grey eyes raked over Harry's shirtless body. Though he was nervous on the inside, he was Slytherin enough to know that opportunities should not be wasted when one had the upper hand, and watching Potter strip was near the top (if not at the top) of his recently established Things I Like To Do list. _'With a build like Harry's,' _Draco thought,_ 'who in their right mind wouldn't want to watch?'_

The aforementioned golden boy cleared his throat as his eyes drifted downward, noticing that Draco had yet to put pants on over his silky boxers. "Er, sorry," Harry said, turning around in embarrassment and quickly putting his pajama top on. He shivered when he felt lips brush against the back of his neck, and arms encircle his waist. Slowly, he turned to face Draco, who was simply irresistible with that heat in his eyes. They kissed, starting out slow but picking up speed as it progressed. Draco swiped his tongue along Harry's bottom lip, asking permission, and Potter gladly obliged and opened his mouth for exploration.

Draco then slid his hands under Harry's shirt and gently trailed a finger down his spine, making him gasp. The Prince pulled out of the kiss for air and bent to lav his tongue along at Harry's Adam's apple, before biting along the sides of his neck. Harry squirmed and withheld a moan of pleasure; the attention felt wonderful. Deciding to return the favor, he inclined his head towards Draco and nipped the lobe of his ear, gently kissing over the red mark as the Slytherin hissed in pleasure. Malfoy kissed him roughly, and leaned into him so as to push him toward the bed, which Potter fell back upon as Draco presided over him. But when Draco ran a finger along the blue waistline of Harry's pants, he drew the line.

"Draco," he panted, gently pushing his hand away and sitting up. "Please. That's enough for tonight."

Draco immediately stood back, ashamed of himself for moving so fast. "I . . ." he was unsure of what to say. He wasn't exactly sorry for what he had done, but he hadn't meant to push Harry beyond his comfort level. "I apologize. I didn't mean to embarrass you, or go too far. I'll leave, if you want."

Harry shook his head. "No, of course I want you to stay. And . . . it's not like what we were doing was bad or something, just a bit fast. Please, I want you to stay. We need to talk anyway-and get some sleep." He slid the blue cover back and scooted under it, waiting for Draco to join him. The Slytherin brushed imaginary wrinkles from his pajamas, patted his tousled hair down, and joined Harry under the covers, laying on his side to face the other.

"Before anything else, I just want to clarify; what are _we_, exactly? What does this make us?" Harry asked, green eyes reflecting his feelings of confusion and hope.

"What do you want us to be?" Draco asked, reaching out to brush a black strand of hair away from the other's eyes.

"A couple."

"Then as far as titles go, I suppose we're boyfriends. Is that suitable?" Draco asked, smiling as Harry cuddled into his side sleepily.

"Yeah," the Gryffindor said with a yawn. "It's great."

"Anything else you want to know tonight?"

"Yeah; how long?"

Draco attempted to keep his mind out of the proverbial gutter. "How long what?"

"How long have you liked me?" Harry asked.

The Prince sighed. "That's complicated. When we first met in Madam Malkin's robe shop, I legitimately just wanted you to be my friend. But when I offered you my hand the first day of school, I did it for two reasons. One was because I thought you were a nice bloke, and that you'd make a goody ally. Secondly . . ." his voice trailed off.

"Secondly . . .?" Harry inquired gently.

"Secondly, I thought you were someone famous that my parents would want me to associate with. It was very . . . difficult to gain affection and approval from my father, and I thought befriending you would boost me in his eyes. I didn't yet realize the depth of my father's disdain for all things Potter, or the disdain you would have for me, your Slytherin adversary. So, over the years, I acquired a taste for loathing you, and for that I'm truly sorry."

That struck some major chords, and Harry's heart broke. "Draco . . . I'm sorry I-"

"Don't say you're sorry, Harry; its fine now. Anyways, my romantic feelings for you started to show in fourth year. Remember that paper crane with the drawing on it?"

"You mean the one where I was struck by lightning during Quidditch?" Harry laughed.

Draco smiled lightly. "Yeah, that one. So, I suppose I started flirting with you then. I didn't realize my feelings fully until sixth year, which came as an additional source of angst apart from my damned mission and my father's imprisonment. Merlin, that was a hard year . . ."

The sheets whispered as Harry pressed himself closer to the blonde, whispering: "I'm so sorry, Draco. I was blind to the things you were going through, I felt for sure that you were just a snob turning Death Eater. And then that day in the bathroom . . ." pain filled Harry's features and tears filled his eyes. "That was a complete accident, I swear it! I had found the Sectumsempra spell in a book, but I had no idea that it was possible of hurting someone like that. When I saw you bleeding out on the tile because of something I had done . . . I hated myself for it!" he sobbed, his body shaking as his pent-up guilt came to surface at last.

Pale hands rubbed Harry's back soothingly. "There, there," Draco said, struggling to keep his own tears at bay. "It was not your fault; you had no idea what that spell would do. Besides, they didn't even scar once Snape fixed me up. Besides, you saved my life in the fire, which evens the life debt thing out for me. And I'm fine, Harry; you will not blame yourself, understand?" Harry whimpered pitifully into the Slytherin's chest and he sighed. "I hope that whine meant somethings along the lines of 'Yes,dear'."

Harry chuckled faintly as his boyfriend wiped the last of his tears away. "Ponce," he sniffled, "no wonder I've fallen for you."

"Well, I _am _pretty damn close toirresistible," Malfoy said, disguising his flush at the compliment with his pride.

"Sleep sounds pretty irresistible, too," Harry yawned, making his companion do the same.

"All right, then, let's get some sleep before Pansy and Granger stun and drag us out of here in the morning. Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Draco." But as tired as Harry was, his mind teemed with thoughts that provoked worry and prevented sleep. _'Draco said that Hermione and Pansy would be the ones to drag us out of here, but I'm thinking it will be Ron. Oh, Merlin, it won't be easy to explain this to him1 Hermione will come 'round to our relationship sometime, but Ron . . . he may never get used to the idea.' _He ran a hand through his messy hair worriedly as he thought of his best mate flying off the handle. But when he heard a soft sigh behind him, he cracked his eyes open and smiled at the sleeping blonde, whose arms were wrapped around Harry's waist. _'Maybe Ron will take it well once he sees how happy Draco makes me. My boyfriend, Draco.' _Thoughts such as this calmed the wizarding savior, and as he slipped into a dream, a faint smile played at his lips.

~~~I know there's considerably less action in here than usual, which worries me a tad. That and I didn't receive many reviews for Chapter 8, which contained the central Halloween party theme AND their first kiss, so I'm concerned that I liked writing it more than you readers liked reading it. :/ Am I being paranoid, or did I make a plot flaw and not see it?


	10. Chapter 10

~~~A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, life got busy. Get ready for some drama! (:o

Draco felt perfectly content; he was warm, comfortable, and cuddling his boyfriend as he reveled in being half-asleep, half-awake. Full waking up was something he did not want to do. But want or not, they would be in serious trouble if they didn't show up to breakfast in the Great Hall; even on the weekends when students had more free reign than usual, skipping a meal would not go unnoticed. Groaning, he stretched and opened his tired eyes, taking in the sight of a sweetly sleeping Harry before comprehending how awfully cliché that was. He jostled the sleeping Gryffindor's arm lightly, receiving a sleepy: "Mnnngh" in reply. Draco sighed and shook harder.

"Come on, you louse, it's nearly time for breakfast and they'll notice if we aren't there." The brunette slept on, emitting a small snore to top it off. Draco rolled his eyes but smirked as an idea popped into his cunning mind. _'Desperate times call for desperate measures,' _he thought as he moved Harry off of him. _'Diabolical, naughty, desperate measures.' _Biting his lip to keep from laughing, Draco straddled his boyfriend and leaned down to plant a kiss on his collar bone, lips moving up his neck and jaw before biting his ear gently. Harry, still asleep, flushed and grunted. Draco smirked and continued, tracing his original path as he went back down to the collarbone. He paused when the pajamas got in the way, but soon had the first buttons undone so that he could kiss Harry's chest, too.

"Mmmn," Potter mumbled, starting to come to. "Morning, Draco," he said, opening his eyes to see a smiling, though very blurry, blonde on top of him. "Glasses?" he asked, and Draco handed them to him. "Much better," Harry said as the world around him came into focus.

"We have to get going," Draco said, kissing him and then getting up. "Its almost breakfast and they'll notice if we don't show."

"Right," Harry said, shoving the covers off of him and standing. "But we'll need other clothes." The Room of Requirement obliged, providing jeans, red Converse, and a black hoodie for Harry. Then, a knit sweater and black jeans appeared for Draco, along with stylish English riding boots.

"Those almost look like Muggle boots," Harry said with a smirk as he turned around and began dressing.

"There are a few Muggle inventions that meet my standards," Draco sniffed as he pulled the sweater over his head. "And Father can't do anything about it now, so I am free to wear what I wish." He pulled the boots on and ran a hand over the smooth leather fondly.

"They are beautiful," Harry said, coming over to inspect them. "But their owner is even better."

Draco smirked. "Don't I know it. But the owner's boyfriend isn't too bad, either." Harry adjusted his glasses and blushed, saying; "Let's head down to the Great Hall before Hermione and Pansy kill us. Besides, your friends at least will want to hear the news."

"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked as they left the Room of Requirement, the gate swinging shut behind them and disappearing back into the wall. Draco's boots tapped against the stone floors, but the sound soon faded into the din of conversations around them as they trudged down the stairs with the other students.

"Well," Harry said fretfully, "most of your friends already seem to know what's going on between us. But my friends . . . Hermione's figured it out, I'm sure, but Ron's my best mate and he's not going to handle this well."

"Because of me."

"Not to mention the fact that you're a bloke. He was upset with me for a while after I broke up with Ginny, but he didn't even know the reason then. I . . . I haven't even come out yet, so how am I going to explain that I'm dating you? Hell, we're getting looks right now just for talking to each other!" Sure enough, witches and wizards standing by them on the staircase were puzzled indeed to see the two holding another conversation. Even after the fight and the way their groups joined up at the party, it was still quite a shock for the student body to see the two being so friendly.

"I don't give a shit what anyone thinks about us," Draco said evenly. "But you should talk to your friends before we let the school in on our little secret. Part ways with me here and sit at your usual table today; in fact, Granger's just up ahead, see?" Draco pointed and Harry could see a distinctive tangle of curls ahead of them as they stepped into the Hall.

"Alright," Harry said, biting his lip with worry. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it." Harry smiled and walked off, and Draco's worry set in. "Merlin, I hope you don't need it."

Things at the Gryffindor table were cheerful as expected; until Hermione spotted Harry, that is. "Harry!" she cried, swatting the back of his head as he sat down beside her.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.

"You know perfectly well what that was for! You not only pantsed Ron in the middle of the dance (whether he deserved it or not), you left without telling anyone where you were going. You had me worried sick!" She turned in her seat and hugged him fiercely.

Harry was perplexed, but he hugged back. "'Mione, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going, but why were you so worried?"

"To be honest, mate, seven years of people trying to kill you has made us a bit paranoid," Ron supplied. "I wasn't as worried as she was, o' course, but still, you should've told us you wouldn't be back in Gryffindor tower last night."

"Harry, where _were _you?" Hermione asked, brown eyes filled with concern and curiosity.

"I . . . I'll tell you after breakfast when we're alone, ok? I need to talk to you two about something anyway."

Ron perked up. "Would this happen to be about that someone who's stolen your heart?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a secretive smile. "I'll tell you who it is later."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione said enthusiastically, her mind churning. _'Harry hasn't been eying any witches lately_,'she thought. '_I think I have to turn my attention to wizard candidates. Harry's been holding something back lately, not to mention the way he and Draco acted in potions. I wonder . . .' _she mused as she buttered her toast.

Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Draco was being reprimanded by Pansy. "Draco Lucius Malfoy!" she yelled, standing up fully to tower at 5'4''. "You worried me, you prat! Why didn't you tell us you were leaving? Where did you and Harry even go without getting caught?"

"If you must know, we went to the Room of Requirement. I did not tell you we were leaving as we were sneaking out. If I had told you we were leaving, it would defeat the purpose of sneaking, would it not?" Pansy grumbled about Malfoy logic as he smirked and dug into his pancake.

"Still," Theo said, "you should have come back to the dorm last night."

"I agree," Blaise said with a mischievous smile. "But if you and Potter were . . . shall I say _preoccupied_, that's a different story. No wonder you snuck out!"

"Preoccupied?" Pansy and Theo asked in unison. Pansy caught Blaise's drift first.

"Oh, no wonder you left in such a hurry, Dray! Congrats! I want to hear all about it," she said with a saucy wink. "Was he good?"

Blaise was laughing his arse off, and Draco sent him a shriveling glare. "Stuff it, Zabini," he growled. "Besides, we didn't do _that_, we just . . . talked."

Theo snorted. "Sure, you were 'talking' all night long. Wait, is that what the kids are calling it these days?" he teased, laughter erupting from the group. Draco wanted to sink into the floor, or hex the lot of them, whichever came first.

"Fine," Draco said cunningly, "If you wish to mock and make presumptions, be my guests. I suppose I don't have to tell you what actually happened."

"I didn't say that!" Pansy cried, desperate to learn of what had happened the night before. "Blaise and Theo were being mean, not me. You can tell me."

"Hey!" Theodore complained, scowling at the girl as he sipped his juice.

She waved him off in favor of gossip. "Won't you be a dear and tell me, Draco darling?" she cooed hopefully.

"I'll tell all three of you soon enough, provided I can eat the rest of my breakfast in peace," he conceded. Pansy had never been so quiet.

Breakfast came to a close, and students were released to spend their Saturday studying, relaxing, or, as in the case of Harry, worrying.

_'I can do this,' _he thought nervously. _'Draco said I'd be fine. Besides, Ron's my best friend. He'll come round someday . . .' _He looked over at Ron and Hermione, who were holding hands and walking just ahead of him. _'But I hope he comes round today.'_

The three Gryffindors walked through a portrait and into the common room, where several other students were hanging about reading and studying. "Hey, Harry, Hermione, Ron," Neville greeted from the couch. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Hermione said, looking out the window to see a clear, cloudless sky.

"Luna and I are gonna go down to the lake in a bit to study the water mosses there. Do you want to join us?" he offered.

Ron looked horrified, but Harry smiled politely and said: "Maybe next time, Nev. We're a bit busy at the moment." Neville nodded and waved them off, and Harry noticed that Ron was still looking horrified. "What is it?" Harry asked.

"Look by the fireplace," Hermione whispered. He turned to look and saw Ginny pressed up against the Hufflepuff from the night before. Ginny whispered something to the boy, and they laughed carelessly before kissing and carrying on the conversation.

"Uggh," Ron said, turning his back on the happy couple and heading up the stairs to the boy's dorm. Hermione and Harry followed suit, Hermione lecturing Ron about his sister's right to kiss whoever she wanted as Harry felt anxiety creep into his thoughts. If Ron was upset with his sister kissing a boy, how would he take his best mate Harry kissing a boy? Once the three were settled on Harry's bed with the curtains drawn and silencing charms in place, Harry prepared himself to admit everything.

"Look," he started, "I didn't come here last night because someone and I snuck out of the party under the cloak. We were having fun, and we lost track of time, so it seemed like a good idea to just stay where we were for the night."

"But where did you go?" Hermione asked. "Surely you would have been caught if you left the castle."

"We didn't leave the castle, not really. We were in the-"

"The Room of Requirement," she said, catching on instantly.

"Right."

"Wonder what you asked it to turn into?" Ron said with a wink.

"Nothing like _that_," Harry chuckled. "It's just a quiet place I go to sometimes when I want to think, that's all."

"You must really like them to share something so personal," Hermione said, stressing 'them'. Harry ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair.

"Yeah, I do," he said with a blush. "In fact . . . we're dating now."

Ron whooped and clapped him on the back. "God job, mate! I knew you wouldn't be without a girl for long."

Angst flashed across Harry's face and Hermione bit her lip. "Um, Ronald, should you really be so quick to assume the gender of Harry's special someone? I mean, Dean and Seamus have been together for a long time now, and there's that Ravenclaw couple too . . . "

The Weasley laughed. "There's nothing wrong his that, but this is Harry we're talking about here. He's never so much as looked at a bloke that way."

"How do you know?" Harry whispered.

"Wait . . . what?" Ron asked, leaning back in surprise.

"How do you know if I like blokes or not? It's not something you can figure out easily, ya know; even I wasn't sure at first, and-"

"So you ARE dating a guy!?"

"Ronald, lower your voice!" Hermione hissed.

"Yes, I am dating a guy," Harry said firmly. "Is that ok, Ron; or do I need your permission before I date someone I lo-like?"

The redhead still looked shocked, but calmed down and said: "No . . . no, of course not. Sorry, I just . . . I didn't expect this, Harry." He shook his head, but smiled apologetically. "You're right; it's not my place to say who you're with. So who's the lucky guy, huh?"

Hermione reached out and gripped Harry's hand tightly. If her suspicion was correct, this could end badly. "He's . . . he's in Slytherin, to start with," Harry said nervously.

Ron tried to contain a frown. "Slytherin, really? Guess it's better than Hufflepuff," he said darkly, thinking of his little sister.

"It doesn't matter what house he's from," Hermione said, "so long as he makes Harry happy." She leaned forward to whisper in Harry's ear: "I'm with you 100%, no matter who it is. Even if it's who I suspect it is." She pulled away, and Harry looked at her with gratification. Of course, she would have known all along. She was brilliant.

"Oi," Ron said, "If the whispering is over, I'd like to know who he is."

"He- his name is- it's Draco, Ron. I'm dating Draco." Harry and Hermione grimaced; Ron looked as though he had been slapped.

"You're joking," he said desperately. "You're just stretching out a joke for Halloween, getting me back again for that skrewt trick. I mean . . . you can't be serious. Who is it, really?"

"Ron," Hermione said gently, "He's not joking. He's being honest with you right now; you need to accept that." She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, but he scowled and scooted away.

"You," he said angrily, glaring at his girlfriend. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

She frowned. "Well, I suspected-"

"Don't explain yourself, 'Mione," Harry said numbly. "I'm the one dating Draco. If Ron has a problem with that, he can deal with me." He fixed his eyes on Ron. "Well? Do we have a problem?"

"You bloody well know we have a problem!How could you even think about dating him, Harry? He's teased us for years, insulted my family for years! He and his filthy family are nothing but cruel arseholes, and yet you're _dating_ him! I can't . . . I can't believe it!"

"Believe it, Ron," Harry said icily. "Because we like each other, we're dating, and that's not gonna change because of you. You're my best mate," pain flickered in his eyes, "and I don't want this to hurt you. But I'm being honest with you when I say we aren't breaking up any time soon. I like . . . maybe even love him, Ron, and I need you to see that. Please." Harry's eyes pleaded with his friend, who stared back coldly.

"This is mental," Ron said angrily, pushing himself up off of the bed. "You're mental! The war must have given you a brain disease, and I'm leaving before it becomes contagious." He threw open the curtains and stormed away.

"Ron, come back!" Hermione pleaded as her eyes filled with tears. "Ron!"

"Forget it, Hermione; he's gone. I knew this wouldn't end well . . . " The witch turned about to see her best friend fighting to hold back tears.

"Oh, Harry," she said, wrapping him in her arms. "He'll get over it, I know he will. You're his best friend! He just needs some time is all!"

"Some time," Harry said, tears spattering his glasses as he hugged Hermione tightly. "If all he needs is time, he can take a century for all I care! He just-" the boy sobbed. "He just needs to-"

"I know," she whispered, "He just needs to hurry and get over it." Harry nodded into her shoulder. "Don't worry. You still have me, and Draco, and I'm sure the rest of the House will support you, too. And Ron loves you, no matter how stubborn he acts at times. And I love you, no matter what you do."

Harry pulled away to smile at her. "I love you, too, 'Mione." The two friends sat in silence, hoping that the third one would com around soon.

Very angsty, I know! But if Ron reacted that way, how will the school act when they come out? :o Find out next chapter, and for Merlin's sale, review!


	11. Chapter 11

~~~A/N: Will Ron set aside his anger and finally see that Harry's happiness is at stake here? Read on to find out, and, as always, enjoy! :)

Draco was having a much better time of it than Harry. Naturally, Pansy wanted to hear every sodding detail about the night prior, so he admitted to the majority of the evening (leaving out the more personal parts). Blaise and Theo were not at all surprised by the emergence of the relationship, but they were a bit surprised by Harry's eagerness in it.

"Gotta say, I figured he liked you, but it sounds like he's head-over-heels," Theo said as the group lounged in the otherwise unoccupied Slytherin commons.

"You think?" Malfoy asked, unable to hide a little smile.

"But of course, darling!" Pansy squealed. "He's even willing to come out to his friends, his House, and the school for you!"

"That takes balls of steel," Blaise agreed. "No wonder he's in Gryffindor."

"I just hope everything goes ok," Draco said, running his hands through his hair and mussing it up. "I am worried that Weasley will hurt Harry's feelings. I'm not too worried about Granger, though."

"Neither am I," Pansy said. "We were talking at the party, and she's actually nice. It's a shame we called her mudblood for all those years," she said with a sigh of regret. "She really is brilliant; I bet she knew you two were together before he even told her."

Draco nodded but frowned, tapping his boot against the floor absent mindedly. "Something the matter?" Blaise asked.

"I just have a bad feeling," Malfoy puzzled. "Something's not right. I should go check on Harry." He made to stand, but Theo caught his arm.

"What if he's still talking to them?" Nott asked. "If you barge in during the conversation, it could make things awkward."

"He set off with them nearly an hour ago; I'm sure they know the gist of what's going on already. Besides, I can't just ignore this feeling . . . I want to go."

"We'll come with you," Blaise offered, and Pansy nodded.

"Alright," the Prince agreed, rising from his chair. "But if he's in the Gryffindor common room, you may have to wait for me in the hall. And NO insulting his House mates, am I clear?"

"As crystal," Theo said. "Now let's go."

Hermione and Harry had eventually left his bed in favor of the Common Room, where a fire was lit to stave off the cold brought on by a creeping October fog outside. They sat on the couch sipping tea and trying not to think of Ron, while Neville, now joined by Luna on the other couch, frowned as he looked outside.

"Guess we can't go down to the lake now," he grumbled. "The fog will make it near impossible to find the moss."

"That's unfortunate," Luna said, "but the weather is beautiful, don't you think?"

"Can we please talk about something more scintillating than moss and weather?" Harry asked, squeezing the bridge of his nose tiredly and staring at the flames.

"Sure," Neville said, looking worriedly at his friend."But if you don't mind my asking, Harry, what's wrong?" All eyes turned to Potter, who looked to Hermione for advice.

"Should I tell?" he asked nervously. Granger put her hand on his shoulder.

"I think you should. Telling your friends first should make it easier when you tell the school."

"Tell us what, Harry? You know we will keep it secret if you wish," Luna said sweetly.

"We're behind you no matter what," Neville said firmly, and Harry was reminded of their loyalty to him before, during, and after the war. If there were friends he could trust, these were them.

"Okay, um, here goes. I'm dating someone from another House, Slytherin to be exact, and some people haven't reacted well to the news so far . . . "

"Is that why Ron stormed out of here with Ginny earlier?" Neville inquired delicately.

"Yeah, it is. You see . . . last night, I officially started dating someone I've really connected with, someone who makes me . . . he just makes me so happy! I can't explain. It's like, when we're together, everything is fun and all that I've ever done is . . . is ok with him." Luna and her boyfriend smiled encouragingly. "I-I'm dating Draco Malfoy."

Neville looked surprised, but happy, and Luna smiled dreamily and said: "No wonder you visited him in the hospital."

Harry's eyes bugged out. "Wait . . . how did you know I visited him in the hospital?"

"I sleepwalk, remember? I happened to wake up near the hospital, saw a light on, and glanced in. Don't worry, I only saw you talking to him." She smiled, and Neville laughed.

"That's my girl! Always wearing her shoes to bed." He smiled adoringly at her, and the couple shared a small kiss.

"So . . . neither of you are mad, right?" Harry asked.

"Of course not!" Longbottom cried. "We fought Voldemort by your side; you think the fact that you're dating Malfoy would change that? No. Besides, as far as being gay goes, we fully support Dean and Seamus; why not support you two?"

Everyone present in the room grinned, not noticing the portrait door as it inched open.

"Thanks, Nev, that means a lot to me. Especially after earlier with Ron when he-"

"When I what, Harry? Was shocked that you're suddenly in love with the enemy?" Everyone spun around to see Ron and Ginny entering the room. Hermione's face hardened.

"If you're here to antagonize Harry, then you might as well leave. I won't stand for this, Ronald;if you refuse to accept him, I swear I will end us!" Granger threatened, standing to face her boyfriend. "You need to accept your best friend and his decisions," she said less harshly. "I do, and I know that deep down you do, too. You love him no matter what, Ron. You know you do."

The elder Weasley frowned but looked conflicted. "This isn't your fight, 'Mione."

"Harry's fight is our fight," Neville said. "You're our friend, Ron, but if you have a problem with him, you have a problem with us."

"Listen to them, Ron," Ginny said from his side. "Like I tried to tell you outside, my heart isn't broken because Harry's gay, and him dating Malfoy isn't all that bad. I have ((insert random Hufflepuff's name here)) to love. Don't worry about me."

"Fine, sis, I won't worry about you. But he's making a mistake! Malfoy doesn't really care about him, he's just using him for something and I'm worried! That . . . that's why I'm mad," Ron said dejectedly. "I don't care if you're gay Harry. But all Malfoy has done over the years is trick people and insult us. How can you like him? How can he like you?"

"He's changed, Ron; the war's over and he doesn't have to listen to his family any more. Besides, he's brilliant,caring, and I happen to love him," Harry said, drawing up to his full height. "Whether you like it or not."

"You . . . . you love me?!" a voice inquired from the other side of the portrait.

"Fat Lady, please open the door!" Hermione cried. "You have our permission to let Draco in."

"If you say so," the portrait replied, swinging open a crack. "But I'd better not get in trouble for this."

"Harry!" Draco said, eyes never leaving his boyfriend as he strode across the room. "I had a bad feeling about this, and that damned portrait wouldn't let us in without the password, and then I heard-" His eyes turned stony when he saw Ron gaping at him. "So you're the one who was arguing with him, then," the Slytherin said icily.

The Weasley nodded. "That's right. I don't trust you, Malfoy; never have, never-"

"Best not finish that sentence, mate," Harry snapped. "You might regret it."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Alright, everyone calm down," she said nervously, watching as Draco stepped closer to Ron.

"So you doubt my feelings, Weasel? So you decided that hurting my boyfriend's feelings was the best way to resolve everything?"

Ron scowled. "Yeah, s'pose I did. I have to make him see sense somehow."

It was Harry's turn to scowl at the redhead. "Wrong answer." He stepped closer, as though ready to fight Ron, but Draco put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"If it's a matter of proving how I feel about you," the Slytherin hissed, "I am more than happy to oblige."

"Go on, then," Ron challenged. "Prove it."

"Uh, Ron," Neville warned. "I don't think you realize what he meant by that-" Draco captured Harry in his arms and kissed him passionately, his eyes tightly shut as his mind and body fought to prove his ardor. He deepened the kiss, and Harry's eyes rolled back, a breathy moan escaping from his lips as Draco tugged on his hair and pushed him against the wall. The Slytherin was just about to attack the Gryffindor's neck when Ron cried: "Okay, okay, enough! For fuck's sake, stop it it, I get it!" Draco and Harry broke apart with matching smirks, panting louder for good measure. Malfoy wrapped his arm around Potter's waist and turned to face the others. Neville was laughing with Ginny, Hermione and Luna were blushing but smiling, and Ron seemed stricken.

"Proof enough for you, Weasel?" Draco drawled. "Or do you need another demonstration?"

"I've seen enough to last me a life time!" he replied quickly. "But . . . I am sorry." He looked Harry in the eyes. "I'm sorry, mate. It was just so hard for me to see you two together, I couldn't believe he felt the same way, so I was worried for you. Forgive me?"

Harry smiled. "Only if you apologize to my boyfriend as well." Ron sighed but turned to Draco and put out his hand.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy. Really. If you make him happy, then stay with him. But promise me I can kill you if you hurt him."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, but the Slytherin smirked and took the Weasley's hand.

"Deal," he said, shaking the proffered hand.

"All right!" Neville cheered.

"Thank god that's over," Ginny sighed with relief. "Now, if you'll excuse me, happy couple, I want to go visit my own boyfriend." With that she opened the portrait door, and three Slytherins came tumbling in.

"Ah! What the hell?!" Ginny shrieked as Pansy, Blaise, and Theo knocked her over.

"Portrait bint wouldn't let us in," Theo grumped, helping Pansy to her feet.

"We had to do _something _to hear your conversation!" Pansy whined as she helped Ginny up.

Draco and Harry laughed; there had been no small amount of drama involved, but in the end, their crazy-ass friends were wonderful. "So everyone's good?" Neville clarified. "No bad air?"

"Nope," Ron said, smiling as Hermione crept to his side. "All good."

"Great! Then would you guys like to accompany us down to the lake? It looks looks like the fog has finally cleared."

Harry looked to Draco questioningly. The Slytherin smiled and kissed him on the head. "Oh, why not?"

So the couples spent the remainder of the day at the lake, going in as late as possible. At dinner, Harry sat at the Slytherin table and chatted happily to Pansy and Theo while Draco joked with Blaise. They received several looks from other at the table, but all in all no one seemed to mind all that much.

"We'll make it obvious to the school tomorrow morning, yeah?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded. "Sounds good. Oh, and about earlier; I couldn't be sure since I was on the other side of the portrait door, but it sounded to me like you used the l-word."

Color filled Harry's cheeks and he looked down at his shoes. "I may have thrown it out there," he mumbled.

Wisps of blonde hair fell into Draco's eyes as he chuckled and pulled Harry's face up to meet his. "Next time," he whispered, "make me the first to know those kinds of things, ok?" Harry smiled and squoze his hand.

"Okay, Draco." McGonagall then announced that dinner time was over, and as students rose and headed out of the Great Hall, Draco and Harry made to head separate ways.

"One more thing," Draco said. "I kind of love you, too." They smiled, and when they went to sleep later that night, they had the mos pleasant of dreams.

~~~Some fluff at the end to diffuse the tension from earlier. You can't be too mad at Ron, now; he just needed time. Next chapter will tel of the school's reaction the relationship. I'm considering ending the story next chapter with their coming out, but I am also considering expanding the story to tell of their lives farther into the year. What do you think?


	12. Chapter 12

~~~A/N: Time to see the school's reaction! Enjoy. :)

Morning came with a chill, bringing rolling fog and frost that clung to the windows and coated the Whomping Willow in ice crystals. The entire castle seemed to shiver in the cold, and its students were no exception. In fact, the Gryffindor dorms were full of shivering teens, Harry among them.

"Merlin, it's cold," Harry said as he stepped into the common room. He had gotten up early, so the only other boys in the common were Dean and Seamus.

"Yep, winter's comin' early this year," Seamus said as he pulled on a vest. "Too bad it hasn't snowed yet. Not cold enough, 'spose."

"Are you kidding me? It's bloody freezing!" Dean groaned as he pulled a second sweater over is head. "I like it warm. I can't stand this!"

"Ah, quit you're complainin'," Seamus laughed. "'Sides, you have me to keep you warm." The two leaned in for a long kiss, and Harry looked away modestly. When they were done, they pulled apart quickly as though they had just realized they had company.

"Eh, sorry, 'arry," Seamus said, running his hand through his hand. "Forget you were there n all . . ."

"It's okay," Potter chuckled. "Besides, I . . . I have a boyfriend, too, so I know what it's like."

"You do?! Who is he?" Dean asked excitedly.

"Draco," Harry said, figuring that, since the whole school was gonna find out, he may as well let his House mates in on the secret first.

"Ah, so that's what Ron was carryin' on about yesterday! We thought we heard shoutin'. Well, congrats!" Seamus said with a smile.

"I didn't expect you to go for the Slytherin bad boy, Harry, but I admit he's quite a catch." Dean smiled and clapped him on the back. "Good for you! Oh, here comes the rest of the lot."

Most of the other Gryffindors streamed into the commons and began to head to breakfast. "Do you want us to keep quiet about this?" Dean asked.

"Some others know already, but yeah. I need to go over something with Draco and some others before we let the school in on it. I have plans for coming out this morning," Harry explained, "so if you want, jump in when we move the tables, okay?

"'Move the tables'?" Seamus asked confusedly. "A'right, then. See ya Harry!" Seamus called, taking Dean's hand and heading out the portrait. Harry hoped that someday soon he would be able to hold Draco's hand in public like that.

"Morning Harry!" Hermione's voice pulled him away from his thoughts.

"Morning," he said, turning to smile at his two best friends. "Hey, Draco and I came up with a plan last night and I want you two to help me. I'll also tell Neville and Luna when I see them. Ron, please tell Ginny and ask her to get her boyfriend in on it. You see, I want the school to know . . ." He discussed the plan as they headed down to the Great Hall, and his friends nodded in agreement.

"Brilliant," Hermione said. "We'll tell the others. You go find Draco and make sure that his friends are in on it, too."

"All right." The group split up as they entered the Hall, Hermione heading to the Ravenclaw table t and Ron going to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.

"We thought you were mad at Harry," Dean said as Ron finished explaining things.

"I was," Ron admitted sheepishly. "But then Draco . . . (Ron shuddered) proved how he felt about him, so I'm not upset anymore. If he makes Harry happy, then more power to him. Harry's gone through enough in his life; he doesn't need me to get in the way of someone he- someone he loves . . . Don't tell him I said that." The Gryffindors chuckled at the redhead and went about eating, waiting for the time to come.

"Don't worry. You're secret is safe with us."

Meanwhile, Harry headed to the Slytherin table and ignored the looks cast his way as he sat down next to the Prince.

"Is everyone here caught up to speed?" he asked Draco.

"Our friends are all in on it," he said, and Harry smiled.

"They're my friends, too?"

"But of course, darling! You make Dray happy, you make us happy," Pansy cooed.

"I won't call you darling any time soon, but you're all right, Potter," Blaise said with a little smile. Theo grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

"Thanks," the boy wonder whispered. "That means a lot to me. Well, no time like the present. Shall we then?" The group rose to their feet, followed by the Greengrass sisters, Crabbe and Goyle, and a few other Slytherins. Students from the other Houses rose to their feet as well, such as Cho Chang, Lavender Brown, and the Patil sisters. Hermione stood in between the Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff tables.

"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked curiously as nearly a fifth of her students stood simultaneously.

"Could be a fight" Flitwick said cautiously.

"I don' think so," Hagrid rumbled. "Not with Hermione n Luna in there."

"Then what?" Slughorn puzzled. "Should we be concerned?"

Hermione nodded at Harry, who raised his wand, followed by the other participating students. "On my signal," he called. "Three, two, one; now!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!" they cried in unison, flicking their wrists and pointing their wands at the house tables. With the combined efforts, the tables (and the students seated at them) rose into the air.

"What is the meaning of this?!" McGonagall cried. "Put those students down now or I swear I will-"

"Wait, Headmistress!" Harry shouted. "Just give us a chance!" The tables were now lined up side by side, each end of one touching the end of another as they floated in the air.

"Alright, let them down!" Ron yelled.

"Slowly!" Hermione stressed. So, the group led the tables downward gently, the legs scraping the stone floors as they landed with a gentle thud. The Great Hall had been rearranged, with tables from each House flanking another House. The staff stood stunned at their table, and silence fell upon the students. No one dared speak until the Headmistress had said her piece.

"I don't believe it," McGonagall whispered. "I don't believe it!"

Harry winced; this was not what he had expected. Maybe it was a bad plan after all-

"Potter! Malfoy! All of you with their wands raised- come up here!" the Headmistress cried. The students felt collectively nervous as they walked up to the staff table, and the couples gripped their partners for support.

"Yes, Headmistress?" Harry asked.

"I have never . . . in all my years here, I have _never _seen such an act. Perhaps this is the silver lining from the war; perhaps not. All I know is that I couldn't be more proud of you, my students." The old Headmistress beamed at her pupils, and called out: "Attention, students! Take an example from your fellows before me. They have set aside their differences to unite the Houses, and make friendships and relationships (she looked to Harry and Draco) stronger than ever between the entire student body. For their courage to do what is right, I award each student's House fifty points. Which, I am happy to say, means that _all _Houses receive them. These tables will remain where they are now until the day this school closes its doors. Thank you to all before me, for what you have done!" McGonagall concluded with a smile.

Hagrid began to clap, followed by Slughorn, then Pomfrey, and the majority of the student and staff assembly. The rebels cheered, and Hermione leapt into Ron's arms as Harry and Draco hugged, then kissed. There were some gasps of surprise here and there, but most didn't seem to mind. Unity reigned, and love was love. Who were they to deny it? And so, the day lingered on, a pleasant and cold Sunday.

Portrait doors were opening left and right, with friends from opposing Houses finally seeing fit to go visit one another in their common rooms. In the Ravenclaw common room, Neville cuddled with Luna on the couch as she looked for waxpurts in Dean and Seamus' ears. The Patil and Greengrass sisters lounged in the Slytherin commons, discussing what it was like to be a twin and how people perceived them, while the Hufflepuff tower was suddenly full of curious Ravenclaws. While that commotion was going on, the Gryffindor common room was heating up- and not in a very unity-friendly way. In fact, it was advisable to stay the hell away from there.

Ginny was outraged; but she had every right to be. Her boyfriend (the nameless Hufflepuff from before) had not only disappeared at the time to move the tables, but refused to say two words to her all day. That is, until she forced the words out of him via magically-enforced pillow, which _hurt _when one was hit by it.

"Why won't you talk to me? Why wouldn't you move the tables? Where did you go?!" she yelled, punctuating each question with another pillow.

"Ow, ow!" he cried, holding his hands up above his face to keep the pillow away from his dirty blonde locks. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I'm sorry! I just . . . I didn't want to participate, really, and I was busy . . ."

"Busy doing what!?" she shrieked in frustration. "What was more important to you than school unification?"

Her words pierced through the walls, and Harry (who was sitting cross-legged on his bed with company) was tempted to put up a silencing charm. "Why do you think he didn't show?" he asked.

"Could be he doesn't like us as a couple," Malfoy said stoically, his grip on Harry tightening. "His loss."

"He might have been busy," Ron suggested from the foot of the bed. "He probably forgot about the whole thing."

"Not if he left during the middle of breakfast," Hermione said, pondering as she leaned into Ron's side. "He would have known what was going on, he just refused to take part in it."

"So he lied to my sis, then," Ron said angrily. "What a git. If he doesn't make her happy, I'll go out there and pound him."

"No you won't," his girlfriend placated gently, twisting a curl around her finger. "He isn't worth the trouble. Besides, Ginny's strong. After her breakups with Harry and then Cho, she can handle him just fine on her-"

"Cho?!" the three boys cried. Hermione bit her lip.

"Eh, I wasn't supposed to tell you that," she whispered. "Please, just forget about it. Ginny told me in confidence about their relationship and no one else is supposed to know about their bisexuality. Besides, they broke it off after a couple months."

Ron looked flabbergasted. "What is it with people these days? My little sister, my only sister, kisses girls just like she kisses boys."

Draco raised his brow. "I hope that isn't a derogatory lament, Weasley, for I am the same as she."

"I'm not mad at her or anything, it's fine that she is," Ron said. "I'm just surprised. And . . . a bit jealous. Why would she tell you and not me, 'Mione? I'm her brother."

Granger curled closer to him and rubbed back. "Some things are hard to tell your family, Ron. She was probably scared that you would be upset with her."

Ginny's yells emanated from the commons again, and this time the walls shook with it.

"I think Ron she be more afraid of upsetting her," Harry said. "Come on, let's go check on them." The four got up headed to the common room, hurrying around the corner when they heard the Weasley girl shouting.

"You bastard! I can't believe you cheated on me with Susan!" The four gasped; Ginny had tears streaming down her face, and the Hufflepuff had a red hand print on his cheek.

"You hit me," he said, sounding shocked.

"Oh, I wonder why!" Ginny fumed. "We are through- and I'm telling Susan as soon as I find her! Now leave this room or I'll hit you with something harder! Go on, go!" He edged toward the door, but didn't quite leave. Ron stepped in.

"You arse," he growled, flexing his Quidditch- built muscles and flaunting his height. "If you don't leave before I count to three, I'm going to rip every last fucking hair out of your pathetic head and use it to make a rug! One-" The boy was gone before Ron could finish speaking. Hermione and Harry rushed over to Ginny, who knelt on the floor and wept.

"That arse, that arse, I hate him! He cheated on me and Susan, that's why he was gone this morning. He left to go see her in the hallway; she didn't know about the plan, or about me. She was a no-show at the dance since she felt sick, so he took me instead. She had no idea he was playing us." Ginny sniffled and took a tissue from Hermione. "I need to go tell her the truth before he gets his hands on her." She made to leave, and Hermione and Ron went with her.

"I'll go with you to speak with her," Hermione said gently. "Besides, you and I both can get into the girl's dorm if she's there."

"And I'll wring the arse's neck if we come across him," Ron promised roughly, gripping his sister's shoulders protectively. They headed out the portrait, and Harry turned to Draco with a sigh.

"Do we wait?" he asked. Draco nodded, and sat down beside him in a large armchair.

"We wait."

A few hours later, the portrait opened to reveal Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Susan Bones. Harry disentangled himself from the blonde, who laughed in his throat.

"Guess your hair can look even messier than usual," Draco said with a wink as he re-adjusted his shirt hem. Harry blushed and tried to look somewhat innocent as his friends and their guest entered the room.

"Hello," Susan said anxiously. "Sorry to just barge in, but it's a bit difficult to be in the Hufflepuff tower right now."

"I told you, don't worry about it," Ginny said lightly, putting her arm across the girl's shoulders. "As you can see, we already have guests from other Houses in here, and you'll make a fine addition."

Susan smiled and turned to the boys on the red armchair. "I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I wasn't there when the tables were rearranged, but I would have helped had I known. I fully support you two as a couple, and I think it's wonderful what you have started."

"Thank you," Harry said graciously.

"From both of us," Draco added. "It's nice to see that not every Hufflepuff is being an arse today."

"Tell me about it," she and Ginny said in unison. The girls laughed, and Ginny perked up when she looked at the stairs.

"Come with me, Su!" she said excitedly. "I want to show you that Holyhead Harpies poster I was telling you about!"

They shot off toward the girl's dorm, and Harry grinned.

"Well they're getting along nicely," he said. "What happened when you went to Hufflepuff to tell Susan about . . . what's his name?"

"Peter Lars. When we arrived, she let us in and we told her the whole story," Hermione said, "about the cheating and all. She was pretty sad at first, but the more she talked, well, she and Ginny just really clicked. They're both huge Quidditch fans; in fact, Susan's on the Hufflepuff team this year. She's their Keeper."

"Look out, Weasley, you've got competition," Draco teased. Ron almost smiled.

"Stuff it, Malfoy." Hermione and Harry looked at their partners and smiled; things around Hogwarts were changing indeed.

Dinner that night was one of the liveliest Hogwarts had ever seen; there need be no holiday to encourage such spirit among friends. Even castle ghosts were joining in the merriment, the Bloody Barron sharing a pint with Nearly-Headless Nick as Peeves popped up through tables and did his best to annoy every student possible. The Grey Lady even appeared once, flashing a faint smile before fading away. And when Harry heard a distinctive high-pitched snigger in his ear, he knew that Moaning Myrtle had finally seen fit to leave the bathrooms and join the fun. He then looked over to the formerly Gryffindor table and smiled; Ginny was still chatting away with Susan, and Luna sat beside Neville contentedly. Ron and Hermione weren't fighting for once, and Draco was sitting beside him laughing with Dean. It was a glorious night indeed!

However, there were the few who detested the idea of unity, and of Draco and Harry's relationship. These particularly unsavory characters already had vendettas against the two, and this recent development was simply fuel for the flames. They needed a plan, however, and a leader. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw on their side had his moments of brilliance, and his rage served to provoke it. What his brilliance would cost, though, no one could predict . . .

~~~Dun dun dun! Spooky end of the chapter, right? ;) Yay, unity! Anyways, I've decided to extend the story a few more chapters; after all, not everyone will like the unity. Also, Blaise still owes Draco for the help on his Potions. I have so many ideas for that lol. Till next chapter, my lovelies! :)


	13. Chapter 13

~~~A/N: Sorry the update took so long, life happens and I've been CRAZY busy. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, I lurv you! :D Enjoy!

The following day was shaping up to be a wonderful one, especially for a Monday. Students and staff alike were pleased with the changes in their school, and the majority of Draco and Harry's peers seemed to approve of their relationship, which felt nice. In fact, the only irritating part of the day was the incessant giggling and fan-girling that kept occurring in the new gay couple's vicinity. As the pair walked past yet another group of tittering girls, Harry groaned and ran his free hand through his hair (the other hand was busy holding Draco's.)

"Ugh, we have a fan club now. I suppose there has to be some detractor of being with you," Draco sighed, then noticed Harry's grin out of the corner of his eye. "What?" he inquired.

Harry bit his lip and smiled cutely. "So having fans is the only detractor? In other words, I'm perfect?"

Draco flushed a pale pink and said: "Far from it. I just meant serious detractors; your minor ones number in the hundreds."

"Oh really? And what are they, may I ask?"

"Well, for one your hair is always messy and freshly-shagged looking. Your eyes are abnormally green, and your laugh is simply contagious. It's disgusting, really." Malfoy fought to keep a straight face as Harry laughed.

"And what other flaws do I possess, you berk?" he asked, winking and nipping his boyfriend's ear.

Malfoy opened the door to the potions room and as they entered he whispered: "Another flaw is your innate ability to turn me on right before class when I can't do anything about it." Harry held his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing as they sat down at their table and took out supplies.

"S-sorry," he sniggered as he blushed. "I didn't think of that, but it's funny!"

"What's funny?" Hermione asked, sliding into the seat besides Harry as Ron flanked her.

"Nothing!" Draco and Harry said quickly. The Gryffindor couple beside them exchanged confused glances but felt it best not to pursue a more truthful answer. Pansy and Blaise entered the room shortly thereafter, and Harry was relieved that the short Slytherin girl had not been around to hear that comment. She was sweet, but her ability to uncover sensitive information and thus induce paralyzing embarrassment was beyond scary.

"Oi, where's Slughorn? He's usually early," Ron wondered aloud, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.

"Dunno, late maybe," Potter surmised.

"It answers your question on the board," Hermione said with a chuckle, pulling out her textbook. "He's helping out Pomfrey with her potion stores, so we need to do the assigned bookwork."

"Ugh, a foot of parchment on the use of antidotes," the Weasley grumbled, reading the assignment in his book.

"Oh boys," Pansy sang, gesturing to Draco and Harry. "Have you seen Theo?"

Draco cocked his head. "He isn't with you and Blaise? That's a first. We haven't seen him since late this morning after he slept in."

"Ron, Hermione, have you seen Theo?" Harry asked, turning toward his friends.

"Not that I noticed," Hermione said, and Ron shook his head. "Why?"

"Just haven't seen him since this morning," Draco mused. "I bet the git decided to cut class in favor of shagging someone, but then again, the girl he's after is still here."

Pansy's eyes lit up. "Who is it, Dray? Tell meeee!" she begged.

"Well, if you must know, she is-" the saucy Slytherin prince began.

"Finish that sentence and I'll hex your balls off," a voice hissed in Draco's ear, before the body containing that voice sat beside Pansy.

"I found Theo," Blaise commented dryly.

"Where were you?" Pansy asked. "I was worried."

Theo shook his head. "I'll tell all of you later. I think something's goin' on."

The group exchanged equally confused and concerned looks but returned to their work. A foot of work wouldn't write its self without a quick quotes quill, and that was something none of them possessed. So, Hermione and Blaise wrote their papers, Pansy harassed Theo, Draco and Harry passed a note, and Ron stared into space thinking about Hermione. Soon enough, class ended, and they went their separate ways, waiting to meet up at lunch.

The Hogwart's grounds were reveling in the unusually warm November day, and many students chose to head outside during lunch, our group of Slytherins and Gryffindors among them. They headed to a secluded area by the lake, and quickly settled down with all eyes on Theo. If he was acting serious for once, something just _had _to be wrong.

"All right, boys and girls," he began with a sigh, "It started this morning, when I was late for breakfast. I was on a staircase, moving toward the last flight before the Hall when the ride suddenly stopped. I was about to try jumping onto another staircase when I heard voices. Before-"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, then," Pansy sniggered. "Don't you always hear voices?"

"Hush, Pans," Blaise said. "Go on, then."

Theo blushed as he looked at Pansy but kept going. "Anyway, I heard voices whispering, but I couldn't tell you who they belonged to. I listened in, having nothing better to do with the stairs stuck and all, and I heard . . ." he took a deep, shaky breath to steady himself, "I heard someone say that they were going to k. . ." he broke off painfully and Pansy shifted nervously as she trained her gaze on him.

"Someone's going to what, Theo? You're driving us mad!" Malfoy said exasperatedly.

"Damn it, Draco, they said they were going to kidnap and maybe even kill you!" Silence descended upon the group like a thick, smothering cloud intended to asphyxiate all who had heard the dreaded news. The threatened Slytherin boy was the first to break through it.

"If someone wants to kill me, just let them try. They're probably just amateurs looking for revenge or something. Nothing major," he said slowly, looking at the ground and stirring up soil with his boot tip.

"Nothing major?! You're mad!" Harry exploded, gripping his boyfriend's shoulders and pulling him close. "Fuck, Draco, someone is contemplating ending your life! You have to take this seriously; come on!"

The blonde squirmed out of Harry's grip and came to a stand, brushing dust off of his slacks. "If you think I'm not taking it seriously, you're wrong. But I'm not that worried, either. They're just angry idiots, and their threat is significantly less serious than the ones I got everyday when I was a Death-Eater-in-training." His voice came out bitter, and Harry visibly flinched.

"Draco, hon," Pansy started, but her words faltered when he glanced at her with heart-break in his eyes. Even if this wasn't as bad as the war times, someone was thinking of _killing _him, for Merlin's sake! He was doing his best to conceal his feelings, but Draco was understandably stressed.

Harry stood up and took his boyfriend's arm. "Come on, let's go talk about this in private," he whispered, his words laced with urgency and worry. "We can fill in the others later." Draco nodded, leaned into Harry's side for support, and the two headed off, not really caring where they went so long as they were together and safe. Their friends watched as they left, and Blaise sighed.

"I can't believe this," he muttered. "After all the shit this school went through, there are still those assholes who want to treat other students like fucking trash. What a joke!"

"A sick joke," Ron concurred. "Granted, Malfoy isn't exactly a ray of sunshine-oof!" Hermione elbowed him. "Oi, lemme finish! He's not a ray of sunshine, but he sure as hell doesn't deserve to be kidnapped or bloody killed by some loony running around school. No one deserves something like that."

Hermione smiled apologetically at him and took his hand. "Ron is right. He may have been your friend much longer than he has been ours, but we are just as willing to help keep him safe."

"Good," Pansy said, wiping at her tears and runny eyeliner as Theo put a protective arm around her shoulders. "He'll need allies right now. You don't suppose . . . . you don't suppose this is a result of the table moving, do you?"

"It's at least a possibility," Blaise said thoughtfully. "Might be a contributing factor."

"Some people are resistant to change," Hermione said fretfully. "We need to start building a profile of who it could be. Honestly, I'm thinking an older student; known Draco for years."

"Someone who's been here longer, is used to House divisions and wants things to stay the same. Makes sense," Ron said, smiling lightly at his brilliant girlfriend.

"So . . .," Pansy said, "I guess if we're gonna find out who this is, we need to make a list of older students who hate Draco and are mentally unstable."

"Right," Blaise agreed. "And we'll need to have someone around Draco at all times, no matter what."

"I think Harry's got that pretty well taken care of," Hermione said with a smile. "He hardly left him alone as it was."

"True that," Theo said with a chuckle. "Now, as far as crazy older students go . . ."

"Wait," Hermione said. "Once we narrow it down, we need to tell McGonagall immediately. If his life really is in danger, we aren't exactly qualified to guard him, are we? Besides, they could go after other students as well. I don't want anyone hurt."

"Think of it this way, 'Mione," Ron said softly, "His boyfriend is the bloody Boy Who Lived, then kinda died, then lived again. Do you really think he's in much danger with Harry of all people to protect him?"

"I guess not," she said, looking up at the trees. "But I hope they don't prove us wrong."

Harry and Draco found themselves at the Quidditch Pitch, which was mercifully empty. Lunch was nearly over and they would miss their next class, but that didn't matter right now. Harry squeezed the Slytherin's hand and felt him tense up.

"It's alright, Draco," he murmured, gently brushing a strand of fine platinum hair away from probing grey eyes. "I've got your back in this, no matter what."

"I know . . ."

Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "You remember the day I taught you how to cast a Patronus?"

Draco smiled. "How could I forget? I nearly flattened you and Weasley both when I didn't block Blaise's spell."

The Gryffindor chuckled warmly. "Yeah, there was that. But I mostly remember how our Patroni acted around one another. That was pretty cool."

The Malfoy heir snorted. "Don't be a Philistine, Potter, that was bloody beautiful and you know it."

"Beautiful like you," Harry said, grinning when a pale blush tinted Draco's cheeks.

"Well, should we let them out to play? They haven't seen each other in a while."

"Yes, let's. It would drive me crazy to be apart from you so long. Expecto Patronum!"

"Expecto Patronum!" Silver light burst from their wands and the spectral stag and doe emerged, once again prancing around each other before racing around the sky. "We're late for class," Malfoy remarked, staring at the Patroni as Harry's arms tightened around his waist.

"A few more minutes won't hurt," Harry said, beaming at the charms and his boyfriend. "You know, we said it kind of hurriedly the other day but . . . I really do love you, Draco."

The Slytherin smiled. "And I you." They leaned in for a kiss, and for a brief moment the worries of the present were forgotten.

~~~ So, how was it? ;)


	14. Author Angst Please read this!

I may be over reacting, but I posted Chapter 13 days ago and I haven't heard from any of you readers. My account is showing that the story posted, but I'm wondering if it didn't go through? Of course, if that's true, it means that this may not go through either. :/ Ugh. Anyways, if you have read it, please let me know so that I can quit worrying.

Thanks,

SlashtasicFangirl


	15. Chapter 14

~~~A/N: I'm so sorry this is late and short! I was suddenly out of town since last Tues night to care for my Grammie as she was in and out of the hospital with stomach problems. I didn't have time to even think about the chapter, let alone write it until now, and I'm still busy with her. Sorry again, enjoy!

Harry and Draco got detention for skipping class, but Harry was honestly happy that they had. It was another opportunity for him to be near his boyfriend and keep a watchful eye on him. Meanwhile, their friends also took turns guarding Draco, and the group as a whole was rarely seen apart from one another. A second couple with mixed Houses noticed this, and grew concerned.

"Hey, Harry?" Neville asked, turning toward Potter and his group, who were huddled up on the couch in the otherwise empty Gryffindor common room.

"Yeah, Nev?"

"Luna and I noticed how close-knit of a group you guys have become over time, but it seems that lately you never leave each other's sides. It almost looks like something's wrong. Is there?" All eyes turned to Malfoy, and he nodded.

"It would appear that I have made some enemies as of late," Draco said, looking Neville in the eyes. "Likely due to the recent changes the school has undergone and who I am dating. At any rate, Theo overheard a discussion that involved how to go about kidnapping and possibly killing me."

Neville's eyes bulged. "Kidnapping and _killing_ you?! You're joking!"

Hermione shook her head grimly, and Harry wrapped protective arms around Draco. "Damn, that's heavy, Malfoy! If you want, I'll keep my ear to the ground," Longbottom offered. "And one eye open whenever I'm around you."

"That isn't necessar-" Draco began, but Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Please do," Potter said. "And let Luna know too; but no one else."

"Got it," Neville said, then looked to the portrait door as it was knocked upon. "That's probably her now. I'll leave you guys to it." With that, he dismissed himself.

"You know," Draco drawled, "surprising as it may seem, I don't need EVERY BLOODY ONE of our friends watching out for me."

"Ah, that reminds me!" Harry said with a grin. "Ron, 'Mione, tell Gin and Susan what's going on next you see them, yeah?"

"Sure," Hermione said. "Odds are we'll be able to tell them at the same time anyway."

"What?" Harry asked curiously.

"They've been spending every second together since the whole Peter thing," Ron chuckled. "It's great that they've become friends through that."

Hermione gave Harry a look that said 'Probably more than friends' and said aloud: "Anyways, Susan has been staying in Gryffindor tower the past several nights, so we feel we can trust her. Besides, she's a huge supporter of you two and school unity," she said with a smile directed at Harry and Draco.

"Good, the more the merrier," Blaise said. "But having some supporters doesn't exactly mean he's safe, does it?"

Draco sighed. "Honestly, Blaise, don't worry so much! I have Harry and the lot of you breathing down my sodding neck 24/7. I'm fine."

"The hell you are!" Pansy yelled, standing up and swishing her skirt the way a cat might swish its tail in anger. "Do you have ANY idea how fucking stressed we all are about this?! We still aren't sure just who it is that's after you! We keep our eyes peeled around older students and asses like Stoneman, but what if that isn't good enough? What if they still get you one of these days? I swear, Draco, you are one stubborn son a of a-"

"Easy,darling," Theo said, rubbing Pansy's arm to soothe her as tears coursed down her cheeks.

"He's just down-playing the situation to ease our worry," Harry said with a sigh, kissing his stubborn Slytherin's forehead. "But as much as it kills me to say it, we all have to be patient if we're gonna find out who these people targeting him are."

"We'll have to talk about that between classes," Blaise said, looking at the clock. "First period starts in five."

"Right," Harry said, rising to his feet with the rest of the group. "In the mean time, eyes and ears open. If anyone sees something or someone suspicious, tell the rest of us immediately."

"Got it," Ron said. "I'll tell Ginny and Susan as soon as I see 'em." That being said, the group left the room and split up in the hall, though Harry hung around until Blaise had ushered Draco into their class.


End file.
